The Myth of Meritocracy: Why 'Working Hard' is Now the Employer's Responsibility

I still remember being told, around Grade 10, that if I worked hard, I would be rewarded. It came from a high school business studies teacher and was often repeated throughout my remaining school years, delivered with genuine intent.

Work hard, apply yourself, and success will follow.

Like many people, I carried that message with me into my career. It became a quiet assumption about how work was meant to function. Over time, that message evolved into one of the most enduring beliefs in modern work culture. Working hard pays off. It has motivated generations to persist, to stretch themselves, and to keep going when things feel difficult.

But the world of work has changed. Organisations are more complex. Roles are less defined. The pace is faster, and expectations are higher. In this environment, individual effort alone is no longer a reliable predictor of progress.

Today, capable, committed, and consistently hardworking people can still find themselves stuck or burned out. This happens not because they are unwilling to take responsibility, but because the conditions around them do not support their effort.

It is time we accepted a difficult truth: when high performers fail to thrive today, it is rarely a failure of work ethic. It is a failure of leadership design.

The Shift in Responsibility

The statement "work hard and you will be rewarded" is still relevant, but the subject of the sentence has shifted. The onus is no longer solely on the employee to grind their way to success; the greater responsibility now lies with the employer.

In a talent-short market where retention is the ultimate competitive advantage, the employer must "work hard" to provide the ecosystem in which talent can actually function.

We have moved past the era where a salary was simply a trade for time. We are now in an era where an employer's primary role is to remove friction. If we want the reward of retaining top-tier talent, we must do the heavy lifting of designing environments, cultures, and resource structures that allow that talent to succeed.

Why 'Grit' Is No Longer Enough

For decades, we relied on the resilience of individuals to bridge the gaps in our organisational structures. If processes were broken, we expected staff to work longer hours to fix them. If resources were scarce, we expected staff to "make do".

However, the growing disconnect between effort and reward has fractured this unspoken contract. We are seeing a crisis of retention and burnout because we are asking individuals to compensate for systemic inefficiencies.

To address this, leaders must pivot their strategies in three critical areas:

1. From Managing People to Curating Environments

The employer’s "hard work" begins with culture design. This goes beyond values written on a wall; it requires the rigorous construction of psychological safety. We must create inclusive environments that cater to diverse work styles and needs.

If an employee has to fight politics, navigate unclear hierarchies, or mask their authentic selves just to get through the day, they are expending energy that should be directed towards their actual role. It is the leader's job to clear that path.

2. Redefining Resources

Providing tools is not just about software subscriptions; it is about realistic capacity planning. Adapting leadership strategies to support employee well-being means acknowledging that an unlimited workload is incompatible with sustained high performance.

We must balance high expectations with realistic frameworks. If we demand innovation but do not provide the time to think, we are setting our teams up for failure. The employer must work hard to protect their team's time as fiercely as they protect their budget.

3. Measuring Outcomes, Not Hours

One of the greatest challenges in modern leadership is measuring and rewarding outcomes in complex, less-defined roles. The old metric of "hours in the chair" is obsolete.

Employers must put in the effort to define what "good" looks like in a way that focuses on value creation rather than presenteeism. When we fail to define success clearly, we leave employees spinning their wheels, working incredibly hard but moving in the wrong direction.

The New Equation for Success

Does this mean employees are off the hook? Of course not. Professionalism, diligence, and skill are still the price of entry. However, these traits are merely potential energy. They only convert into kinetic success when placed in the right environment.

The reward for the employer who embraces this shift is substantial. When you build a culture that genuinely supports output rather than just demanding input, you gain loyalty. You foster collaboration and innovation because your team is not in survival mode.

You attract the best people because they know that in your organisation, their hard work will actually count for something.

The Call to Audit

It is time to look at your organisation and ask: Who is working the hardest here?

Is it your people, struggling against outdated systems and vague expectations? Or is it your leadership team, actively working to dismantle barriers and build a platform for success?

If we want to retain talent in this demanding environment, we must rewrite the rulebook.

The advice from my Grade 10 teacher still stands, but it is time for leaders to take it to heart.

Work hard to build the right culture. Work hard to provide the right resources. Work hard to support your people.

Only then will the reward follow.