Earning a salaried position is a major step forward in your career. As you transition from an hourly job to a salaried career path, there are changes in the workplace you must adapt to.
Salaried positions are designed to provide you with a consistent and reliable payment each month. While it may seem strange to not be paid overtime – like you would as an hourly employee – salaried jobs offer you a whole new set of advantages that make going the extra mile worth it.
In this article, I will discuss some of the differences between hourly and salaried jobs. Plus, I will outline the key benefits that come from putting in extra work in your salaried position.
What Happens When You Put in Extra Hours as a Salaried Employee
As a salaried employee, there may be times in your career when you are asked to put in a few extra hours. This may be due to major company projects, upcoming deadlines, or other events that require a business team to collaborate vigorously and complete tasks thoroughly.
The reality of having a salary is that you will receive benefits that provide you with more long-term advantages, rather than the immediate gratification of overtime pay.
Immediate Rewards vs. Long-Term Growth
Overtime pay is what we describe as an immediate reward. You may earn a heftier paycheck than usual, but the benefits do not extend very far past this one-time or occasional larger payout.
With a salary, the extra hours you put in contribute to your long-term growth in the position. As you commit more of your time to the job, the rewards you earn help you to foster a sustainable and successful career.
With this in mind, let’s examine 3 benefits that make going the extra mile worth it:
3 Key Benefits of Going the Extra Mile in Your Career
Below we have outlined three key benefits to putting in extra hours as a salaried professional.
It is important to note that maintaining a good attitude and work ethic are essential components to earning these benefits faster. Not only does keeping a positive mindset help you, but it also helps to create a supportive, compassionate, and collaborative work environment in which you and your peers can thrive.
Without further ado, here are our top 3 benefits of going the extra mile:
1. Performance Recognition
In a salaried job, your business leaders are always watching to see where you can improve and grow.
Why? To help you build a long-term career. When you put in extra hours, you can rest assured that it does not go unnoticed – in fact, your extra effort is a major factor in your career progression with a company.
Performance recognition not only ensures you receive the acknowledgment you deserve, but it paves the way for the other benefits I will discuss here.
Plus, it can help you to build your professional network within the company, as working beyond what is asked of you will often involve collaborating with others you don’t often work with during normal hours.
2. Greater Opportunities
As your performance is continuously recognized, you will begin to experience an uptick in the number of important opportunities presented to you.
For instance, let’s say a company has just onboarded a major new client and must build out a team to work on a digital transformation project for this client. When looking for the best staff members to add to this team, your business leaders are going to look at the people who apply their talents and skills to go above and beyond on a regular basis.
Having your work ethic and talent recognized in this way will lead to the best opportunities within a company, and eventually, to valuable promotions that help you further your career.
3. Raises
Working overtime in a salaried position may not earn you an immediate pay boost, but your effort absolutely goes toward potential future raises.
To earn a raise in a salaried job, you often need to showcase your work ethic and longevity within a position. As you do, you will be more likely to receive the raises you ask for – or even be offered raises without having to seek them out yourself.
Being salaried requires a little more patience, but results in far greater payment rewards.
Final Thoughts
Entering into a salaried career can be a major adjustment, especially if you are coming directly from an hourly job previously. This is especially true when it comes to working overtime, as the rewards you earn may not be as immediate.
However, when you go the extra mile, your career will flourish to its full potential.
