Employee punished for underperforming for 1 day after over-performing for 2 years, stops doing the extra work they had been doing: 'I handle 40 cases, my daily requirement, and then I do NOTHING for the rest of my shift'

Going above and beyond in the workplace is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, you want to show your employer your aptitude and the fact that you can excel in your role—hopefully (but not always), eventually leading to a raise or promotion. On the other hand, you're just raising the bar for what your employer "knows" to be possible; any appreciation they might feel initially changes to simple expectation, and then any deviation from that new bar that you have set could result in negative feedback and disapproval. But when you're burning the candle at both ends to make it happen, you're just setting yourself up for some eventual burnout or failure.

After years of extra effort with little to no recognition, one minor dip in production from the bar that they themselves had set led to punishment, the basic expectation at the company where they worked was 40 cases a day, and they had been achieving 50-55 for almost two years at that time. After one day of 39 cases, which were particularly time-consuming and challenging to handle, they were reprimanded and made to attend a course on how to achieve 40 cases a day, a punishment that was absolutely laughable.