Hello,
at our workplace many colleagues come and go at a really fast pace (two people every year). One reason being: it's shift work. So one day, a colleague of mine with whom I started with 1.5 years ago announced that he will be promoted to do bureau work.
My first reaction was sadness, because I really got along with him and it's always them that go somewhere else. My second reaction was panic. I always was content with the stuff I do and the payment. Yet, if there was a possibility for extra qualification, I did them. Promotion/Transferring was something I wanted to think about in maybe 3-5 years? But seeing how many people go away I thought: If you keep being like that you won't get further in life. So, I immediately discussed an ongoing rumor about new positions with an older colleague which shifted to the subject: motivation.
I said that it's always good to learn new things and stay motivated. To which he replied: "More knowledge only means more work and not necessarily a higher paycheck". Which stems from his own experiences in the past even though he always was kinda motivated. Sometimes he would get in trouble just for going the extra step.
Now, not only am I depressed about that fact but everyone believes that I am overly motivated and want a new position whatever the price. And for some reason said colleague pushes me the most to go the for extra mile in general (half serious and half for fun). Even though he also offers to teach me, it still gets annoying.
Is it my fault to say things like: "more knowledge never hurts" ? I just wanted some infos about the rumor and never wanted to be pushed right into it.