Online commenters applauded an employee who said they confronted their “exploitative” boss after handing in their resignation.
Posting to Reddit‘s “Antiwork” forum under the username u/lolwutRNB, the employee wrote: “My employer has been undervaluing me for years and I finally got to see them sweat after putting my resignation in.”
The post has garnered over 9,100 upvotes and hundreds of comments while highlighting one of the many reasons why economists have long encouraged employers to increase workers’ pay.
In their post, u/lolwutRNB said they worked for their employer for nearly nine years.
“I’ve worked in multiple departments and was even in management at one point…I took on any additional training offered to learn processes…and [learned] new skills that would benefit and fit my employer’s needs,” they said. “However my pay never really reflected the effort I put forth.”
u/lolwutRNB said they “maxed out” their benefits three years into the job and claimed they hadn’t received a “substantial” pay raise in nearly five years.
“I was content with this for the longest time…until [a] new co-worker point-blank asked me, ‘Why do you still work here? You are extremely knowledgeable and you are the backbone of the whole shop,'” u/lolwutRNB recalled.
“I never even thought of why I was still here, barely [above] the starting wage for the job I clawed my way to. I did my job damn better than people with 20+ years of experience on the same floor making double what I make…why was I only worth 50 percent of their worth when I had triple the output,” u/lolwutRNB continued.
Feeling emboldened, u/lolwutRNB requested a meeting with their employer, but the request was ultimately denied because their employer “didn’t have the time to sit down and talk.”
Rather than wait around, u/lolwutRNB applied for other jobs and eventually accepted a position with a direct competitor, who offered a 30 percent pay increase.
After turning in their resignation, u/lolwutRNB’s bosses called them in for a meeting that didn’t end quite as they’d hoped.
“They immediately tried to match the offer. I asked them, ‘If you could have been paying me this the whole time, why weren’t you?'”
u/lolwutRNB said they were met with complete “silence.”
“I stood up and said, ‘Thank you for the opportunity you gave me, but I’m still leaving,’ and walked out the door,” they concluded.
Redditor Reactions: Exploitation
In the comments section of their post, u/lolwutRNB added that the counter-offer proved their employer “always had the money” but was “just exploiting” them.
u/lolwutRNB isn’t the first employee to leave a job over money. The Pew Research Center found that, during last year’s “Great Resignation,” roughly 63 percent of workers left their jobs because of “low pay.”
And just last week, another Redditor went viral for admitting that they also quit their job over money.
“[I]f somebody else is gonna come in and pay me a lot more to do another job, I’m gonna take it,” they said.
To retain good workers, many economists have encouraged employers to pay higher wages, as some research suggests higher pay can actually lead to lower turnover, among other benefits.
Commenters applauded u/lolwutRNB self-described “mic drop” moment, stating they did the right thing by quitting.
“This makes me happy. Go get that better opportunity and never look back,” wrote u/purpleturtlehurtler.
“You should have avoided their meeting like they avoided the one you requested, but it was worth it to see their faces I’m sure. Good for you,” said u/Kn0tnatural.
uAlphaMikeFoxtrot87 called the moment “perfection.” Meanwhile, u/PunkRey said the story was “satisfying.”
“Proud of you sir. Handled your business like a boss. And when the question was asked why they weren’t paying what you clearly were worth and their silence was all you needed to know. Congratulations on your new job and good luck to you,” added u/Key_Initiative_8838.
Source: Newsweek
