My Pay and Title Are the Same. But I Can’t Help But Think I’ve Been Semi-Demoted at Work.

Good Job Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Pressmaster/Getty Images Plus. Good Job is Slate’s advice column on work. Have a workplace problem big or small? Send it to Laura Helmuth and Doree Shafrir here. (It’s anonymous!) Dear Good Job, I’m being semi-demoted at work as the result of a reorg (definitely not performance related— some of the work is simply moving to a different area of our department). My title and pay aren’t changing, but my new role strongly resembles a role I moved out of six years ago. I’m way overqualified for this new version of my role. It’s work that I enjoy and am very good at, but I have larger aspirations and more to give than what this more limited scope entails. I’m unsure how to advocate for myself and my career. I’ve been working toward a promotion into a bigger picture role for the last three years (missing out on a reach promotion about 18 months ago). All the signals and feedback I get from senior leaders say that I’m ready… so what gives in descoping my role instead of creating one that is mutually beneficial and matches my career aspirations and capabilities? I don’t want to sound like I’m whining when a lot of people have changing roles, but no one else seems to think that it’s a big deal that I’m being asked to step back into a role that I left behind two promotions ago. —Overlooked and Undervalued Dear Overlooked and Undervalued, I’ve been mulling over your letter for a minute, because everything isn’t totally lining up for me. If I take everything you say at face value, this seems like a wholly undeserved demotion, and one that doesn’t really make a lot of sense. But as I parse your letter a bit more, I’m also seeing that you’ve gone three years without a promotion (including one that you were officially denied), and “signals” that you’re ready for one, but no action on the part of leadership. And now, a demotion. So what I’m actually seeing here is a company that is either sending you mixed messages, or giving you messages that you don’t want to hear. Because to me, an unwanted demotion, even as part of a reorg, is a pretty clear sign that something’s up. I also don’t know that you’re getting the full story from anyone you’ve spoken to. “No one seems to think that it’s a big deal” that you’ve been reassigned—do you think they’re being completely honest with you, or just telling you what you want to hear? Similarly, you say that the reassignment is “definitely” not performance related—have you confirmed this (preferably in writing) with your manager? And speaking of your manager, have you had a frank conversation with them about what went down, and why you not only haven’t gotten promoted, but are now back to a role you had six years ago? I’m sorry if this is sounding harsh, and I could be totally off base in terms of what I’m reading between the lines here, but I think you owe it to yourself to get some actual answers from people in charge about what’s going on—and what your future at this company actually is. Please keep questions short (<150 words), and don‘t submit the same question to multiple columns. We are unable to edit or remove questions after publication. Use pseudonyms to maintain anonymity. Your submission may be used in other Slate advice columns and may be edited for publication. Dear Good Job, I’m in an ongoing dispute with HR over what counts as a “religious accommodation,” and I wonder if I’m dying on the wrong hill. I am an observant Jew, and every year, I take off Yom Kippur to be in services and fast. Until this year, I was a consultant at my job, so I just did my work at other times. Now I’m a full-time employee with set PTO. My job’s handbook says my workplace offers religious accommodations (with caveats) for any religious observance that “conflicts with work,” so I wrote a request to have Yom Kippur off as a religious accommodation without penalty (e.g., losing a day of PTO). For context, my organization closes Dec. 24 to Jan. 1 annually. I was told I had to use PTO because, quote, “the accommodation is the ability to use PTO or paid personal time without penalty or pushback…It’s not an extra paid time on top of what everyone already gets.” I made the argument that Christians don’t have to take PTO to take Christmas or Easter off, and moreover, every year, because of the nature of my job, I work between 10 and 15 hours during the 10 days the org is closed to keep the trains running, so to speak. I should be able to take this day, the holiest day of the year, in compensation. Furthermore, it’s insulting to have a religious observance be treated as a play to get “extra paid time” like it’s a vacation or something. Do I have a leg to stand on here? Or do I just shut up and lose a vacation day because I happen to not be Christian? —The Odd Jew Out Dear The Odd Jew Out, As a Jew, I feel your pain! But I would urge you to approach this in a slightly different way. The way you’re approaching it doesn’t totally hold water legally; your company is totally within their rights to require you to take PTO to take off Yom Kippur (you don’t get a “free” day because it’s a religious holiday, unfortunately). And the whole office is closed from Dec. 24 to Jan. 1, whether or not people celebrate Christmas. But what I do think you can argue is that because you work during this time each year, you are entitled to a comp day or two to be taken when you wish, that should not count against PTO. If you have a clear accounting of how much work you’ve done in the past during this period, even better. This is what you should be bringing to HR, not the argument that you are due a day of free PTO because everyone else is getting Christmas off. Good luck, and Shana Tova! —Doree More Work Advice From Slate I work at a small company that makes websites for small business owners. My boss started this company 10 years ago. She is a great salesperson, and has enough clients to employ a team fulltime. This job has been good for me and pays my bills, but from day one I’ve felt that we’re all being sort of con artists here. Never miss new Slate Advice columns Get the latest from Prudie and our columnists in your inbox each weekday, plus special bonus letters on Saturdays. Advice Workplace Jobs