Manager promotes employee to $100K role but pays only $75K salary — he knew what to do instantly

Dry promotions can be discouraging and feel like a forced choice to an employee. A worker who goes by u/Jamaissa felt like they were being taken advantage of when their manager offered them a higher role with no raise. The job was reportedly a $100k one, and they refused to increase the employee's $75k annual pay despite an increase in responsibilities. When the employee tried to communicate about it, they were met with ridiculous excuses of not having the budget. Sharing their story on Reddit on January 1, they decided to take a stand against being underpaid and are winning support from the internet.

The position became vacant due to a colleague's passing, after which many applied for the $100k role. However, none of them were selected. “My manager recently told me that she believes I am a ‘perfect fit’ for this role and that the projects my late coworker handled should now ‘fall under my patch,’” the post read. It was added that the worker was used to a similar line of work and that the position being offered was a higher one. The raise was spoken about briefly, and the manager assured the employee she would consider the raise in the New Year. When the time came, she backed off.  “This week, she sat me down and said she does not have the budget to increase my salary to that higher band or grade, and yet she still expects me to take on the work,” the worker noted. They immediately felt disappointed and confused.

“I’m starting to feel deeply resentful and taken advantage of. It feels like the company is trying to save 90k to 100k by pushing the responsibilities onto me for free,” they noted. They decided to take a stand for their respect and work ethic and talked with their manager. “The company’s been declining year over year, and I really don’t see them being generous with raises. It didn’t feel like salary negotiation was an option at all,” they noted. They narrowed down to the fact that they were underpaid and refused to put up with it. “I truly believe the skills and value I bring are worth a pay bump into the six-figure range. I just don’t think that’s going to happen here. So I’m going to start applying more and hope I can get out of this place sooner rather than later,” the employee concluded.

This is the outcome to expect in the case of any underpaid employee. Not only do they feel unimportant or taken for granted, but it also feels disrespectful to give a higher title and workload and not compensate for it. Stephanie Brown, a marketing career coach, shared a post on LinkedIn calling dry promotions one of the “worst trends.” “Somewhere along the way, this crazy notion has developed that by giving you the title and responsibility, you should be grateful. It’s no better than an unpaid internship,” she wrote. She shared a message to managers saying that they need to recognize and appreciate workers for their efforts with dignified compensation.

“Dry promoting needs to stop. You should be grateful for your team and the work they do. They are not there to work unpaid,” she said. And the internet agrees. u/saryiahan said, “Say thanks for the offer but no thanks.” u/aabum added, “If the company doesn't have money to increase your pay by $25,000, then I would be concerned about the financial health of the company. Ask your boss if the company is in financial trouble.” u/billdizzle remarked, “They have the budget they just playing games.” 

More on Scoop Upworthy

Boss left fuming as underpaid employee charges 3 times for knowledge transfer after landing new job

Underpaid employee quits their job and it backfires on company spectacularly

Employee bags himself a better opportunity after boss's flippant response to well-deserved promotion