Knowing Your Value
- rob00957
- Jun 30
- 3 min read
Rockstar of the Week:
HVAC Service Manager - Phoenix - 5+ years of experience at mechanical contractors + experience supervising a team.
If you have a hiring need for this individual, want to be a rockstar of the week, or need help with anything else, email me at rob@zarrellco.com
Some of the hardest-working people out there are the ones who don’t fully know or accept their value.
They give 110%.
They show up early.
Prepared.
Present.
They’re thoughtful, they think before they speak, and they hold themselves to a high standard.
And while those traits are admirable, they often come with a quiet cost.
These individuals are loyal. They have an unmatched level of tolerance.
They carry the weight, fill in the gaps, and rarely complain. They care deeply, sometimes too deeply, about doing their job well.
And because of that, they’re often the first to pick up the slack.
Someone quits? That role doesn’t get reposted.
Instead, they inherit the extra workload.
No extra compensation. No title change. Just more responsibility.
By the time they decide to leave, the company scrambles trying to fill two, sometimes three or four roles just to keep things afloat. Because only in their absence is their full value finally seen.
How do I know this?
Because I’ve lived it. And in recruiting, I see this story repeat itself every week.
Eventually, one of three things happens:
They keep putting up with it
They put up boundaries and say no
They quit
The truth is, if you’re unhappy in your role, those are your three options.
The hardest, but most powerful option? Boundaries.
You can leave and hope for a better environment, but without boundaries, there’s a good chance you’ll walk into a different version of the same dynamic.
That’s why I often encourage people to start with boundaries. Communicate your needs. Ask for support. Challenge the idea that “you can handle it” means “you should.”
And if it becomes clear that your current environment won’t respect those boundaries, that’s when walking away becomes not just reasonable, but necessary.
Because your value shouldn’t only be visible after you're gone.
If this resonated with you and you’re quietly exploring what’s next, I’d be happy to chat.
And if you're just here to reflect, thanks for sticking around.
Sami’s turn.
Sami’s Take
Rob has started using ChatGPT, if you can’t tell.
Rob + ChatGPT = one Sami
But I don’t think AI has taken my job just yet. There is still more to say on this topic.
Though Rob covered most of it this week, I do have a reminder for you all: it may seem like your company doesn’t know your value, but they likely know it better than you.
They deeply understand your value and they are aware that you don’t realize your true worth. Them knowing your true value is exactly why they treat you the way they do. They know your nature is to be kind, passive, and hardworking. They know how much you care about your coworkers and your job.
They know you care to do the right things and be a good person. And trust me, they definitely want you in your role because of all those traits. But they really don’t want you to know they know it. And they don’t want you to feel confident in yourself because of those things.
They don’t want to validate those qualities in you because when you know your value you’ll also be empowered to demand your worth.
It’s not really great for financial growth if employees of companies start doing that.
Which shows, once again, how flawed our system is right from the roots. Flipping our system to something that actually works for the people requires the people standing for what they deserve.
I encourage you to pause today and think about what your true value is, what your true worth is, what areas you can and want to grow, and then how you can begin to advocate for that. Doing this work helps you and it helps us all.
Thank you in advance for doing that work.
Rob + Sami
If you're looking for a job or having trouble hiring please email me at rob@zarrellco.com
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