I'm far from a low level grunt in my orgs. So far working hard has proven to be key in moving up. While in my field there isn't such a clear line between management and non management my last two titles have have had a foot in the management side.
In seems to be en vogue to despise hard work today (unless it is manual labor).
There are certainly fields and/or companies where ones pay and position can be commensurate with their effort. Most would agree that these are the exception not the rule, congratulations if you happen to be in that position.
In seems to be en vogue to despise hard work today (unless it is manual labor).