I turned down a promotion because it required too much "face time"-worth every dollar I didn't make - Silicon Canals

"We live in this weird cultural moment where we simultaneously celebrate remote work flexibility while still secretly believing that real work happens when everyone's in the same room. The promotion I was offered came with an unwritten contract: your physical presence equals your commitment. Show your face, shake the hands, be seen at your desk by 8 AM and still there at 7 PM. Performance theater masquerading as productivity."

"During my burnout period a few years ago, I remember sitting in my car in the office parking lot, physically unable to make myself walk through those doors. I'd been pushing through for months, wearing my exhaustion like a badge of honor. "I'm fine, I can push through" had become my mantra, which I later realized wasn't strength at all but burnout culture speaking through me like a ventriloquist."

An employee received a long-sought promotion with a 40% salary increase but the role required five days a week in-office attendance and constant visible leadership presence. The employee declined the offer and faced disbelief from colleagues, parents, and partner. The decision prioritized actual life and wellbeing over career optics. Workplace culture still equates physical presence with commitment, encouraging performance theater where being seen replaces substantive work. Prior burnout manifested as an inability to enter the office and an exhausted insistence on pushing through. Walking away from the promotion restored balance and rejected metrics based on meetings and hours rather than outcomes.

Read at Silicon Canals