Employee voices their expectations at work and refuses to cover two job profiles without a raise

In today's workplace landscape, where employees are often expected to go above and beyond their designated roles, a Reddit post by u/kdoobs sheds light on a common struggle faced by many: the demand to absorb additional responsibilities without commensurate compensation. This narrative underscores the challenges workers encounter when faced with an employer's unreasonable request. 

They begin their post with a brief introduction to their predicament: "Boss tried to have me absorb a whole other position for no raise." Their journey unfolds within a marketing department plagued by leadership issues. The CMO, apparently their superior, is conspicuously absent for a significant portion of the year and seems out of touch with the field they are responsible for. Moreover, the CMO's lack of expertise in marketing casts a shadow over the department's efficiency. The company's history further complicates the situation, as the CMO inherited the business from his family and lacks the foundational understanding needed to manage a marketing team effectively.

This employee, with a genuine desire to contribute innovative ideas and to take on more significant responsibilities, finds themselves obstructed by their CMO's reluctance to provide guidance or mentorship. Without seeking their input or consent, the CMO makes a unilateral decision: to shift the individual to the communications team, turning them into a machine and churning out email campaigns for the company's extensive clientele. This unexpected move disrupts the latter's career trajectory and thrusts them into an unfamiliar role, one that doesn't align with their career aspirations. Inadequate resources further exacerbate the challenge of managing a colossal workload, which the individual shares with another remote worker.

The situation reached a breaking point when the remote worker was let go. The individual learns that they were expected to absorb all of their remote colleague's responsibilities without any increase in compensation. Upon hearing this news, the employee rightfully questions the fairness of the arrangement and demands a raise commensurate with the added workload. To this, the employer responded, "Well it’s really hard to get raises here, and we’re kind of working with a salary cap and it’s gonna be hard for them to give you more money." Hearing this, the employee said: "I will not be sending a single ongoing email unless I am getting a raise. And I will talk to whoever I need but if you want these sent out, I want more money."

This confrontation with their employer highlights the fundamental issue at the core of the story: the expectation for employees to shoulder more significant burdens without receiving a fair reward. u/Vapordude420 underscores the importance of standing firm in such situations: "Stay strong. Don't do more without more pay. Also, look for a new job." This advice reflects the need for employees to advocate for their rights and seek better opportunities if their current workplace does not value their contributions. This post serves as a poignant reminder of the struggles many employees face when they encounter employers who expect them to absorb more work without an appropriate pay increase. The story highlights the importance of advocating for fair compensation and considering alternative job opportunities when faced with such injustices.