Employee quit after boss called her 'useless' — then left her 401(k) with the company for years just to keep annoying her old boss
When the employee was quitting, the accounts payable manager even offered to give them a reference. However, when they reached out to them later, they stated it was 'against their policies'
An employee (u/VgnTrickstr) left their pestering boss running in merry-go-rounds after she dared to call them “useless” for no particular reason. They had submitted a report to her, but she misread it and started nitpicking problems that didn’t exist. Her treatment left the employee flustered, and they quit the job. After a series of events, they realized the boss was trying to make their life difficult, so they used her own policy against her. Fast forward to six years later: the employee rejoices in the fact that the boss now has to send them a 401(k) request letter every year. Their October 16, 2026 Reddit post has since been upvoted by 8,900 people.
Boss accused me of doing something wrong when I hadn't, now she has to call/email/mail something to me every year.
by u/VgnTrickstr in pettyrevenge
A pestering boss
The incident is from 2020, when the employee was working for a small business as an assistant to the office manager and the accounts payable manager. They hated interacting with both of them. Their office manager’s sole goal was to train a younger employee so it would be easier for her to transition her duties and responsibilities to them. She, however, was always looking for problems. The other day, she called the employee to discuss a report they had submitted.
Threshold crossed
As was typical of her personality, she started pointing out problems like how numbers didn’t make sense. After the employee clarified and explained that she wasn’t reading it properly, the manager had to chew her words. She said, “Ok, but if you had made that mistake, it's like, what even is the point of you working here?" The employee was obviously dumbfounded and cried at their desk.
They were determined to sign off on the job but then decided to follow proper etiquette, be professional, and serve a 2-week notice. The accounts payable manager even offered to give them a reference. However, after some time, when they reached out to the manager, they stated it was "against their policies." "I knew it was because my OM told her not to. They didn't have HR, let alone any policy on that," the author noted.
'Little more work for her'
The employee was registered in the 401k policy, so ever since they quit, the office manager had been sending a letter to them every year to withdraw the amount, which is $233. One year, the manager’s daughter, who too worked in the same business, reached out to them, but they continued to refuse. “Thinking about how overwhelmed she often was and how many bills and letters they send out, I feel pretty good when I imagine my name coming across her desk every year for no reason other than making a little more work for her. Lol,” the employee exclaimed.
401k investments and dependencies
According to Federal Investments, approximately 70 million Americans, about 43% of the working population, use 401k to invest money they'll live off in retirement, per Fidelity Investments. The outlet explains that a 401k is a “retirement savings plan that lets you invest a portion of each paycheck before taxes are deducted depending on the type of contributions made.” Employers typically offer 401(k)s as part of a benefits package to attract and retain workers. Besides, leaving money behind in an old workplace retirement plan is far from unusual. In 2025, nearly 32 million 401(k) accounts worth roughly $2.1 trillion were sitting with former employers after workers moved on from their jobs, as per a report by Capitalize.
Only keep $3
In response to the employee’s post, readers offered cunning and witty suggestions for the situation. For instance, u/ShireHorseRider joked, “If you really want to be malicious, ask her to send you the documents you need to fill out in order to do so…faxes would be even better.” u/Nyves_ Meow shared a similar experience: “Something like this happened to me as well. After like 5-7 years, the statement finally came with a notification to move the holdings, or they'll start charging fees due to inactivity of deposits.”
More on Scoop Upworthy
Restaurant employee quits after being written up by toxic boss for saving an elderly customer's life
Share on Facebook
