Single mom who quit after facing flak from her boss over online post wins support from peers

From customers posting their complaints about a store or restaurant to employees reaching out to peers with concerns about work culture, the internet has provided a platform for people to express opinions and share their expertise. But this wave of videos and posts creating a stir online has also led to grave consequences for some after their employers didn't take criticism well. One Reddit user who works at a grocery store deli and is a single mom took to Reddit to share work woes that she faced after posting her salary online. When her boss saw the post, she instantly demanded that the post be taken down and threatened to fire the employee. But the worker stood up for herself and the internet rallied behind her in support.

In the post that was later deleted, a deli employee pointed out that she made $12.50 an hour in her grocery store job which everyone would agree was quite meager. So she spoke her mind on Facebook about "how hard it was to live, especially as a single mom, only making about $450 a week," but ended up offending her boss. Seeing this post, her boss texted the employee saying, "Take it down! I know managers that make less than you and I'm tired of hearing about it. You're just trying to stir s**t up." This berating response infuriated the employee and she was not ready to take any more disrespect.

In an epic comeback, she said that if managers make less than her, then they should be concerned and furious about being underpaid too. "She then told me that I just need to budget my money better," the employee added. Rather than understanding the employee's concerns, the boss tried to gaslight her by pointing out her inability to manage finances. So, the single mom found no point in staying in that job anymore and informed the boss that she was going to quit. The audacious boss' reply was, "You can at least train your replacement." 

When the boss again tried to contact the deli worker asking to discuss the Facebook post, she simply hung up saying she quit. "Why do these people think that they can just talk to you any way they want?" asked the worker in her post. Though many other work-related reasons made her quit, the employee mentioned that being berated over her Facebook post and not acknowledging her low salary was the "last straw." Many employees in the comments could relate to the single mom's frustration and reassured her that she was indeed underpaid with her $12.50/hour wage.

"You made $12.50 an hour and their response was to learn to budget better? About $26,000 per year before taxes is not livable. You did the right thing. I’m tired of employers acting like the solution is to budget better when in reality the cost of living far exceeds their pay," said a Reddit user. "'Budget better? That amount of money is not livable anywhere in this country. You don’t budget your way out of poverty at $12.50/hr," remarked u/EatLard. "These management types that sold their souls to their masters are priceless. Crunching pennies and screwing over poor hardworking people to get a bonus. They give loyalty to the corporations and none to the workers," added u/KeyResponsibility167.