By Dr. Tim Sandle
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
November 13, 2025
Image:— © AFP STR
‘Ghost Growth’ is the new workplace buzzword, meaning that employees are getting more responsibilities which don’t come with rewards or promotions. It is, however, along-established tendency and one simply re-packaged. In 1974, the economist Harry Braverman covered this aspect of the labour process in his seminal book Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century.
Nonetheless, it is timely to re-examine this tendency in industrial sociology. Peter Duris, CEO and Founder of AI-based career tool Kickresume, has told Digital Journal about the impact of ‘Ghost Growth’ for both employees and businesses.
Image:— © AFP STR
‘Ghost Growth’ is the new workplace buzzword, meaning that employees are getting more responsibilities which don’t come with rewards or promotions. It is, however, along-established tendency and one simply re-packaged. In 1974, the economist Harry Braverman covered this aspect of the labour process in his seminal book Labor and Monopoly Capital: The Degradation of Work in the Twentieth Century.
Nonetheless, it is timely to re-examine this tendency in industrial sociology. Peter Duris, CEO and Founder of AI-based career tool Kickresume, has told Digital Journal about the impact of ‘Ghost Growth’ for both employees and businesses.
‘Ghost Growth’ warns employees about responsibilities that don’t come with rewards
A new career term, ‘Ghost Growth’, has resurfaced in business news lately. It describes employees being given extra responsibilities and tasks at work without receiving a raise or promotion. This is a practice that some employers are adept at, and it has been instilled in management practice and theory for decades. What does the resurfacing of this tendency mean?
Duris explains about the adverse impact on employees: “It can be very frustrating for workers to take on extra tasks when they don’t feel like their work is being recognised or rewarded. Sometimes in many businesses there will be periods when people find themselves stepping up to tackle an unexpected problem or increased workload. However, if this becomes a new, constant expectation, they might start to feel unappreciated.”
There is also a risk of losing workers from the firm, as Duris notes: “Sometimes managers might be reluctant to promote their best team members because it can be hard to find someone to fill their current roles. However, holding onto someone short term won’t make them stay—if they don’t feel fulfilled they might start to look for other opportunities elsewhere.”
In other words, this aspect of labour process theory signals impoverishment and debasement of the quality and experience of work
.
Tips for employees
When faced with a situation where extra duties can be fostered upon you, Duris recommends:Make a note of extra work you take on. If you record what you’ve worked on, you can share it with your manager as justification for a raise or promotion. Ideally, you’ll need to make a note of any evidence of your impact, to help strengthen your argument.
Take time to decide what you want. Reflect on where you’d like to be in five years’ time. What kind of responsibilities would you like to take on—are they similar to what you’re being asked to do now? Map out what your route to your dream job in five years’ time might look like. It could be that ‘Ghost Growth’ work is holding you back from developing in the direction you want to go in.
Don’t get taken advantage of. If you find yourself frequently working unpaid overtime, called upon to handle stressful work that’s above your pay grade, or doing the work of several people at once, this isn’t sustainable long term. Overworking is a surefire route to burnout—if no promotion or raise in pay is on the horizon, it might be time to start looking for a new job or at least setting some boundaries.
Tips for employees
When faced with a situation where extra duties can be fostered upon you, Duris recommends:Make a note of extra work you take on. If you record what you’ve worked on, you can share it with your manager as justification for a raise or promotion. Ideally, you’ll need to make a note of any evidence of your impact, to help strengthen your argument.
Take time to decide what you want. Reflect on where you’d like to be in five years’ time. What kind of responsibilities would you like to take on—are they similar to what you’re being asked to do now? Map out what your route to your dream job in five years’ time might look like. It could be that ‘Ghost Growth’ work is holding you back from developing in the direction you want to go in.
Don’t get taken advantage of. If you find yourself frequently working unpaid overtime, called upon to handle stressful work that’s above your pay grade, or doing the work of several people at once, this isn’t sustainable long term. Overworking is a surefire route to burnout—if no promotion or raise in pay is on the horizon, it might be time to start looking for a new job or at least setting some boundaries.
Tips for managers
Similarly, Duris has sound advice for managers. This includes:Don’t take staff for granted. If you have a team member who shows a lot of promise and is always willing to help, show them you appreciate them. Putting them forward for a raise or mentoring them for future career development at your organization are two ways to show these employees that their work is valued.
Book in regular one-to-ones. In these meetings, you can find out how your employees currently feel about the work they’re doing. At annual performance reviews, you can go into more detail on their future aspirations and what support they need from the business to get there.
Consider promoting from within. An internal candidate could be just the right fit for that upcoming team leader role, or they might be perfect for a sideways move into another department with more responsibility. As a bonus, internal candidates already know the business and may have already developed working relationships across different departments.
While Ghost Growth may look like success on paper, it clearly does not provide tangible benefits. Employees simply end up shouldering more work for little return.
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