How Seniority, Merit, Age Can Determine Your Place in The Pecking Order

A pecking order is a hierarchy of status. The phrase comes from observing hens (pecking). A workplace workplace pecking order can be determined by such factors as seniority, merit, age, etc.

It's a good idea to understand the pecking order in your workplace. Among other reasons, it tells you a lot about how the company is run, as well as what you might need to do to get ahead. For example, if personal connections play a big role in getting promoted, and you've got none, you're at a disadvantage. Not that it's the end of the world. You might find that merit can propel you forward. Just know how merit is determined in your particular job...  

A fair and reasonably organized pecking order lends itself to stability in the workplace. One that's haphazard or dependent on the whims of the boss or bosses creates instability.

Is there an ideal pecking order out there? Likely not. Things vary with the sort of work you do.

For example, union jobs: Yes, there are still unions functioning - some for better, some for worse - out there. And traditionally these have given seniority a certain weight. Maybe the easiest way to think of this: If you've been on the job a long time, you can't just be fired at will. Not that unions ignore all other factors, of course. 

I don't know how much age weighs in favor of employees these days. Indeed, in many if not most instances, it's a negative. Get "too old" and you're pushed out. In circumstances where someone's actually feeble and unable to function in their position, I suppose there's some logic to this. But don't you think that companies would benefit from the wisdom that sometimes comes with years of experience? There may not be one right way to weigh age, but simply booting folks and hiring younger folks (and that's done to reduce salaries a lot of times) doesn't make much sense.

Merit may be the easiest factor to weigh in any pecking order - or at least it should be. If someone's doing a great job, constantly renewing and expanding their knowledge and skills, they will likely wind up commensurately contributing more than their fair share to the bottom line.

Let's turn now to the Rule of St. Benedict. We'll read this entry keeping in mind our desire to promote stability in the workplace. Notice it's the same passage we saw last time. Then it helped us appreciate the importance of knowing how to get ahead. Here we look at it from the perspective of appreciating the value of a clear, rational pecking order:

"The brethren shall keep their order in the monastery according to the date of their entry, or according to the merit of their lives and as the abbot shall determine. Yet the abbot must not disturb the flock committed to him, nor by an exercise of arbitrary authority ordain anything unjustly; but let him always consider that he will have to render God an account of all his judgements and deeds...And on no occasion whatever should age distinguish the brethren and decide their order; for Samuel and Daniel, though young, judged the elders. Therefore, excepting those already mentioned, whom the abbot has by special decisions promoted or for definite reasons degraded, all shall take their order according to the time of their entry..."

This passage - and many others - shows St. Benedict to possess unique skills from the perspective of both the organization and its people. He taught subsequent generations how to set up and run their monasteries. His ideas persisted and flourished for centuries, up until our own day. He also understood people, both in their similarities and differences. He respected these, but knew how to draw all into an appreciation and respect for the Rule he so carefully crafted. 

A well-designed and run workplace, combined with a degree of understanding and respect for the individuals who perform the daily tasks that lead to success, will be one that benefits from a reasonable degree of stability. I suspect many of us would find such a workplace attractive.

Oh, and let's not forget...

Happy All Saints Day!