The Growth Opportunity That Was Just More Work

Every toxic company has its favorite phrase. For some it is “we’re like a family.” For others it is “we’re still figuring out the process.” But my personal least favorite is the one that appears right before they dump a mountain of extra work on your desk.

“This is a great growth opportunity.”

It sounds flattering. It sounds exciting. It sounds like they are about to hand you the keys to a brighter future. But anyone who has been around the corporate circus long enough knows what it really means. It means they are about to exploit you.

Translation: Free Labor

In the corporate dictionary, “growth opportunity” rarely has anything to do with actual growth. What it really means is:

• We cannot afford to hire someone to do this.
• We do not trust the people above you, so we are giving it to you instead.
• We want you to do senior level work without the senior level title or pay.
• We are hoping you are naïve enough to believe this is a compliment.

Growth opportunity is just free labor with a pretty bow on it.

The Setup

The pattern is always the same. First, they butter you up. They tell you how talented you are. They praise your potential. They remind you of how valuable you are to the team. You start to feel good about yourself. Maybe you even think this is the recognition you have been waiting for.

Then comes the catch. Because you are so talented, so valuable, so full of potential, they want to give you a chance to prove yourself. You get to take on a “stretch assignment.” Translation: more responsibility, more hours, more stress. Same paycheck.

And if you hesitate? If you even pause for a second? Suddenly, your loyalty is in question. They remind you that “true leaders step up.” They frame it as a test of character. They imply that if you say no, you are not cut out for bigger things.

So you say yes. Because what else can you do?

The Reality

What actually happens when you take the so called opportunity? You work longer hours. You get buried under responsibilities outside your role. You juggle projects you were never trained for. You answer questions you were never supposed to own. And you do it all without authority, recognition, or support.

Your reward? A pat on the back. A vague promise of “we’ll revisit this at review time.” Maybe a shoutout in a Slack channel nobody reads. But when review season finally arrives, none of it counts.

Suddenly, the narrative changes. “You did a good job, but you still need to show more consistency.” “You handled that project well, but we need to see impact across a wider scope.” “This was a great step, but you are not quite ready for the next level.”

The promotion does not come. The raise does not come. All that comes is burnout.

The Real Winners

The only people who actually benefit from this arrangement are the clowns higher up. They get to brag about “developing talent.” They get to hit their targets because you picked up their slack. They get to parade your work in front of leadership as if it were their own.

And the best part for them? They never have to pay for it. As long as you are willing to do more for the same paycheck, there is no reason for them to change.

The Cycle of Exploitation

The worst part is how repeatable it is. Once you take on one “growth opportunity,” you are branded. You are now the reliable one. The fixer. The go to person who can be dumped on whenever something important needs to get done.

And because you never got recognition the first time, you convince yourself the second time will be different. Maybe this time they will notice. Maybe this time they will reward me. But it never changes. It is always the same trap in a new costume.

Before you know it, you are years into a career where you have been doing senior level work at a junior level salary. And the company is laughing all the way to the bank.

The Silent Cost

The damage is not just burnout. It is resentment. You start to realize that loyalty only flows one way. You give your time, your energy, your weekends, and your sanity for the promise of growth. But the company gives nothing back.

And by the time you finally burn out, the people who benefitted from your free labor have already moved on. They are sitting in bigger offices, collecting bigger paychecks, while you are left wondering how you got stuck running in circles.

The Exit Sign

The only real growth opportunity is the one you create for yourself. Document your wins. Build leverage. Interview elsewhere. Network like your career depends on it, because it does.

If a company truly cared about your growth, they would invest in you. They would give you training, mentorship, clear goals, and real promotions. They would not hand you more work and call it a gift.

The Moral

Real growth comes with real investment. If a company offers you a “growth opportunity” without training, support, authority, or pay, it is not growth. It is exploitation.

So the next time your boss drops the phrase, look closely at what they are actually offering. If it is just more work with no reward, call it what it is: a scam.

Because the only thing growing in that arrangement is your boss’s career. And they are growing it on your back.