Woman denied a raise for 18 years has the last laugh when her replacement quit on day one

A woman spent 18 years working for the same government agency. She worked around the clock, always managing a significant workload, but without a raise. For almost 2 decades, she fought for a job reclassification at the state level, arguing her responsibilities had grown far beyond the original description, but nothing worked in her favor. Nobody at her office realized her importance until she retired. In fact, her replacement couldn't fit into her shoes even for a day. The agency, having no other choice, begged her to return with an unprecedented offer. Her daughter (u/getaway-mucks4) posted the story on Reddit.

The woman was responsible for almost everything. From emergency services logistics to budgeting, creating schedules, and training newcomers, she did everything so efficiently that people hardly ever noticed. "She wasn't officially in management, but honestly, she was the one running the whole place. On top of all that, she was the union representative there," her daughter explained. Anyhow, years passed by, and she retired. The government agency had a hard time finding her replacement. They did find someone after a month, but overwhelmed by the workload, the new hire quit on the first day itself. "Now they are completely stuck and can't find any competent person willing to accept the job for that pay," the daughter explained. With no other option, they contacted the woman and offered her nearly double her old salary. They wanted her to join them as a part-time consultant until they find a permanent replacement. "If she had just threatened to quit 10 years ago, she would have gotten the raise she deserved long ago," her daughter said. She said that although she helped her mom land a remote job with a much higher salary, she is still considering going back to her former company until she finds another job.

A survey of more than 1,100 U.S. employees by Zety found that 41% of workers haven't received a meaningful raise in over 2 years, and nearly 30% said their last raise was smaller than usual. What's more surprising is that 61% of US workers were ready to accept a smaller or no raise at all, fearing job loss. The same survey found that 36% of the respondents report feeling underpaid but are stuck in their jobs. Moreover, more than half (66%) of employees avoided asking for a raise because of taxes or other external factors. This means just like their mother, many employees give their 100% to a company; they miss important family functions and personal time to prioritize their job without ever complaining. And at times, they even work beyond official hours to meet deadlines, but get nothing in return — not even words of appreciation.

Meanwhile, reacting to the Reddit post, u/effective-several commented, "Make sure she gets an ironclad contract that gives her double or triple her wages for a guaranteed amount of time. And then, if they would need her for additional time, that would be renegotiated at that point, and she could easily demand even more at that point if they need her that badly. Make sure that they pay through the nose for this." Similarly, u/comprehensivecup7104 wrote, "She needs an attorney to negotiate a proper contract on her behalf, with hourly rates, minimum per week and weeks per year, and a 5-figure signing bonus to pay for that attorney — and the years of treating her like sh*t."

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