Boss refused raises to senior staff but gave them to new hires. So one worker flipped the script on him
The employee grew more frustrated as he was the only cashier capable of running the registers.
Working tirelessly can mean nothing when you are not being paid fairly. Oftentimes, bosses can squeeze in as many employees as possible, without acknowledging their effort or the strain they take to run the job. But when this Reddit user was denied a hike despite being a senior, he decided to maliciously comply and receive an even bigger pay, making the manager regret his decision.
In December 2022, Reddit user u/tpb772000 took to the popular subreddit r/MaliciousCompliance to pen a hilarious story about his general manager, who failed to increase his pay. During his high school days, the man worked part-time at a grocery store. At one point, the store was facing a staffing crisis, as many cashiers had quit. At that point, the author was earning $10.50 per hour; however, the general manager introduced a hiring promotion for new cashiers who would be paid $11.25 per hour. The author, who felt it was unfair, decided to ask for a raise, but to his dismay, he was declined, with the manager stating that the raise was only for new hires.
With this nonsensical policy, the author grew to become more frustrated over the few weeks as he was the only cashier capable of running the registers. Not only was he a fit employee, but he was also responsible for teaching the new staff, who were earning more than he did. He later realized that the promotion was set to expire within a month, and hence, with the support of his parents, he decided to devise a plan that worked like magic. After waiting for a week, the author handed over his time card, store keys, and vest, and informed the manager that he was quitting. Despite the manager's attempt to discuss the matter, the author declined and walked away.
Over the course of the next few days, he enjoyed some time off and then reapplied for the same position next week. At the interview, which was held by the same manager, the author enquired about whether, as a new hire, he would qualify for the higher pay. He also mentioned having a referral code from a colleague, which would give him a bonus. The manager, who was clearly unhappy, had no choice but to grant him the requests. In the end, the author received the $0.75 hourly raise along with the $250 referral bonus. A study authored by Andrea Derler, Peter Bamberger, Manda Winlaw and Cuthbert Chow explored the impact of pay disparities between new hires and existing employees. The study found that offering higher salaries to recruits can lead to dissatisfaction and increased turnover among current top performers.
Soon after the story went viral, many users commended the Reddit user's quick thinking to devise a plan that taught the manager a valuable lesson. u/CoderJoe1 wrote, "He cost them more money and had to do extra paperwork. Manglement at its finest." u/ViscountBurrito commented, "assume the interview did not ask the 'why did you leave your previous job?' question. Sounds like he probably figured it out, though."
User u/GrumpyCatStevens commented, "Nice. You ended up costing them more than if they'd just given you the raise when you asked for it."
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