You don’t advance by coasting
How small daily behaviors quietly determine who gets noticed and promoted
Throughout my career, I’ve worked with a few people who were clearly just … coasting. You probably know the type. Always outside on smoke breaks, stretching lunch a little too long, or somehow disappearing right when a deadline is approaching.
My personal favorites were the clock watchers — a special breed with an almost supernatural ability to know exactly when it’s 5:00 PM. The second that clock hits the hour, they’re already halfway to the parking lot.
Let’s be honest: those people don’t go very far. If that’s how someone shows up at work, they’re not getting promoted. And if that sounds like you, it’s time to wake up — because when restructuring hits, you’ll be one of the first ones on the chopping block.
Before you can be noticed by your manager, you have to perform. I’m a big believer in quality of work over the “butt-in-seat” mindset — productivity matters more than simply being present. That said, you do have to be visible when it counts. Nobody values someone who gives off the impression that they’re just floating through the day. Not your manager. Not your teammates.
If you’re expected to be at work from 9 to 5, show up a bit earlier. Leave a bit later. Go slightly beyond what’s asked of you. Not every day forever — but enough that it’s noticed. And if smoking or vaping is your thing, save it for lunch. There’s nothing more frustrating for a manager than seeing half the office empty every hour because everyone’s outside. It kills productivity.
If you want your career to move forward, you have to drive it. Pay attention to the pace around you, then push just a little harder. Be the person who’s there when something needs doing. Switch gears when required. Deliver consistently.
Do that, and you will get noticed. I can guarantee it. Within a year or two, that visibility and reliability usually turn into a first real opportunity — leading a small team, owning a project, or stepping into a supervisory role. And once that happens, your career starts moving a lot faster.
How do I know? Because I’ve seen it happen. It happened to me, and I later watched it happen with people who worked for me. When I was a manager, I gave first breaks to the people who showed those habits.
When I started my first job as a software engineer, I didn’t even have a car. I had to figure out how to get to work, so I used our company’s internal bulletin board to find people to commute with. The person I rode in with in the mornings arrived very early. The person I rode home with left quite late. Without planning it, I ended up spending long hours at the office.
I was usually in the office before my manager showed up, and more often than not, I was still there after he’d gone home. In the mornings, I’d pass by his office on my way to get coffee (on purpose) and give him a quick nod or a casual “morning.” Later in the day, when the office had mostly cleared out, I’d purposefully run into him near the water-cooler or on his way out. We’d exchange a few words. Eventually those quick hellos turned into short conversations. “How are things going?” he’d ask. And from there, it just felt easy to talk. The ice broke on its own.
After about a year of that, my big break came. What my manager saw wasn’t necessarily raw talent or brilliance. It was commitment. And that made all the difference.
Key Points
Career stagnation is more often caused by coasting behavior.
Consistently appearing disengaged - excessive breaks, clock-watching, or low visibility - signals low reliability to managers and teammates.
During restructurings or layoffs, employees perceived as coasting are often the first to be cut.
Performance alone is not enough - visibility and presence at critical moments play a major role in career advancement.
Small, consistent behaviors - arriving slightly earlier, staying a bit later, being present when needed - compound into trust over time.