Veteran employee sees promotion handed to 25-year-old newbie. When they asked her to train her, she didn't hold back

Many skilled and experienced employees are facing bias and discrimination due to workplace ageism. Speaker and workplace advocate, Jennifer Schroeder (@theunobsolete), revealed how she fought a similar experience at her own workplace. Schroeder assists adults over the age of 45 with their careers and uses her own experiences to help them battle ageism at their places of work. On her social media, she shared an instance where her superiors passed her well-earned promotion to a graduate with no experience. She boldly declined when the company asked her to use her 25 years of experience to train the new hire.

Schroeder revealed that she had worked hard for two-and-a-half decades to earn a promotion. However, her company decided to give it to a younger employee who had no experience. They proceeded to ask her to train the recruit with all that she knew. “Sorry, not sorry,” Schroeder said before adding that she had no time in her schedule to train the newbie — not now and not even later. As she expected, this was met with a manipulative email from the boss and HR asking her to be a “team player.” However, Schroeder backed her response with clear facts.

“They passed me over for a promotion that I worked so hard to earn, gave it to someone fresh out of grad school with zero experience, and then asked me to train her to do something they said I wasn’t good enough for,” Schroeder pointed out. It was a clear no, without further doubt. Anything they expected the woman to do had to be compensated. “You want me to train my replacement? Pay me. You want 25 years of my knowledge? Pay me. You want me to smile while you humiliate me? Wrong person,” she boldly said. Schroeder noted that she wouldn’t settle for anything less than triple her salary as consulting rates. 

Leaving a message loud and clear for all who think they can take employees for a ride, the woman clearly stated she wasn’t there to conduct a free training program or to make “your cheap labor look confident.” When the company retaliated, saying she was being “unprofessional,” Schroeder replied that she wished to be appropriately compensated for her expertise or would simply choose not to offer it. When asked why she wasn’t being a “team player,” the woman clearly noted that when she asked and defended her right to the promotion, no one stood with her. “The second you stop being useful, they stop pretending to care,” she highlighted. 

In an update, Schroeder revealed that ultimately, her manager and HR called a meeting to discuss how she wasn’t being “collaborative” and throwing an “attitude.” “Not the fact that they passed me over. Not that they expected free labor. My attitude about refusing to be exploited is what they wanted to discuss. She kept hitting them with one strong reply after another. “You expect me to train her for free. Now you’re punishing me for boundaries. That’s not collaboration — that’s control,” she sternly said. The employee was still accused of not being a “culture fit.” She called out the very same culture that “exploits experience” and said she’d gladly stay out.

Schroeder made it very clear that she wanted compensation to train the newbie or else she wasn’t gonna do it. “They didn’t fire me. Because they can’t. Firing me for refusing unpaid work is equal to a lawsuit,” she said. While they continued to make her role chaotic and cite ridiculous “issues,” she was at the top of the game, documenting everything. A study revealed that around 64% of employees who are 50 and above experience some kind of ageism at their workplace. 22% believed they were being pushed out of their jobs due to their age. 91% of older employees have experienced and know that discrimination due to age is common in the workplace. Even 36% of younger workers admitted to the same. This was even visible in job searches and among leadership positions.

In Schroeder’s last update, the manager tried to gaslight her by making her believe they wanted to terminate her for performance issues. He mentioned how the role wasn’t right for her, and he was concerned for her growth and efficiency. Schroeder did not fall for it. Since she herself didn’t want to be in a workplace that exploited her labor, she asked for her severance, reference letter, and benefits. She showed proof of why she deserved it all with the documentation she had collected, and the company had no option but to give in. @sometimesglam wrote, "I've never been prouder of someone I didn't know before." @deegeathers added, "I have practiced law employment for years. Let me tell you, you had them. Love it." 

You can follow Jennifer Schroeder (@theunobsolete) on Instagram and TikTok for more content on career, professionalism and more. 

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