I would have missed this because of lack of enough upvotes but.. here’s my perspective.

You should work hard but on yourselves not for others. I did working hard for others for a decade and ended up in the same place after. I started working for/on myself, I am happier now if not richer.

Yes. Something I learned from contractors on how to fix a big part of this is good communication (this is not self-promotion). People pay much less attention to others than we expect, so most don't know what we're doing or what we did.

1) Say what you're going to do.

2) Do it.

2a) Bonus: If something changes, immediately say what has changed and reconfirm the agreement.

3) Say what you did.

Those three steps go a long way toward being recognized for your contributions.

Be careful with this one. Hard work, applied correctly, is rewarded. Hard work applied incorrectly is not.

Examples of incorrect application:

* working hard at something not valuable

* working hard at something valuable then giving it away well below market rate

*working hard at something valuable then poorly presenting it, e.g. bad marketing

The second happens when you never ask for a raise/promotion, switch to a market rate job, or start a business that captures the value of the skill.

>Worked hard believing it would be rewarded.

Even if you're not seeing the rewards of your hard work now, they will come one day.

Let's say you've spent the last 10 years working your arse off for a shitty boss who doesn't appreciate you. At least you're far more competent than if you'd been lazy for 10 years under the same shitty boss.

Go find a better situation and you'll be grateful for the skills you've picked up, even if it hurt to acquire them.