‘I was denied a raise, so I quit’: Boss denies IT employee 5-10% raise, employee quits, leading to boss paying 40% extra for replacement

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Jul 9, 2023 10:00 AM EDT

For some unfathomable reason, companies have a larger hiring budget than retention budget. They're willing to pay more money to hire a new employee, than they would be willing to pay as a raise for an existing employee. OP was working as a junior at an IT job for a company. During OP's yearly evaluation, they asked their boss for a 5-10% raise, which was completely fair, as they had taken on many responsibilities since the beginning of their employment. OP's boss refused, giving a bunch of reasons that for the most part, made no sense. So, feeling dissatisfied, OP began looking for another job. It wasn't long before OP got two interviews lined up, one of which was offering an increase in salary amounting to a third of their pay.

Of course, management panicked when they found out, offering OP the original amount they'd asked for, but in order to match OP's new pay, they would need to give them way more than that… 30% more, in fact. Scroll down to read what happened next. For more stories like this, here is an employee who cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars after they quit, due to a series of projects being canceled, with no one to take their place.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/SmellySquirrel 22 hours ago Boss tries to save 5-10% by denying me raise, ends up having to pay >40% extra for replacement
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 02
    Font - Just wanted to share my little victory story of not taking st 't from my boss... I work in IT and I'm currently compensated as a junior, but for a while now I outgrew those shoes, and during my yearly formal evaluation I asked for a raise. Doing my research, 15% would have definitely been
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 03
    Font - defensible, but I asked for 10% and would have found some number between 5 or 10% acceptable. Bossman would have none of it, gave me a list of reasons why I couldn't get a raise. The best was stupid bureaucracy stuff and the worst ones were really just nonsense, some were even mild to medium gaslighting. So I got nothing. After this the extra tasks
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 04
    Font - kept piling on, advanced tasks like leading group projects and doing hiring interviews. Definitely not stuff that fits a junior pay. Additionally there should be 3 of us in my team but basically it's just me. So I interviewed at 2 different companies looking for a senior and
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 05
    Font - they both offered me the job. So I signed and handed in my resignation. Bossman incredibly surprised....management started panicking....they scrambled to make me a counteroffer too. But to match my new pay they'd need to give me a >30% salary increase.
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 06
    Font - So, bossman saved 5-10% by not giving me my raise, and now he'll have to hire my replacement at market rate, which would be +20% at the very least. Of course due to the labor market it'll almost definitely be an external consultant, which means another +20% to +30% on top. So that's easily
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 07
    Font - 40% more cost. It will also take some months to fill the position, which is another cost, and the new guy will take some months to reach their full productivity. Gambled and lost, is what we call that.
    via u/SmellySquirrel
  • 08
    Font - icenoid 22 hr. ago Companies for some idiot reason have a larger hiring budget than retention budget. Basically, they are willing to pay more to hire a new person than they are willing to pay as a raise for an existing employee. It's dumb as hell. 2.8k Reply Share
    via u/icenoid
  • 09
    Font - benevenstancian0 · 20 hr. ago Retention involves communication, career-pathing, internal training and development, and bosses who see the bigger picture. Half of companies could pull it off if they tried but it ends up that 90% don't even try at all
    via u/benevenstancian0
  • 10
    Font - because it involves investing in people and capitalism dictates that you, me, and everyone else are expendable. 879 Reply Share
    via u/benevenstancian0
  • 11
    Font - ruralexcursion - 22 hr. ago Congratulations on the new position! Also, just to reiterate, NEVER accept a counteroffer. It is just a tactic to keep an employee around long enough to find a replacement. ↑ 718 Reply Share
    via u/ruralexcursion
  • 12
    Font - Familiar Outcome_688 21 hr. ago This is the answer never ever accept a counteroffer, the first opportunity the companies have they will let you go 198 Reply Share
    via u/Familiar_Outcome_688
  • 13
    Font - DasBleu 21 hr. ago Actually it will cost more as you were a junior and took years to build up to your level. They are unwittingly loosing a person who fit multiple roles that either they will have to hire for or actually advertise they want a senior.
    via u/DasBleu
  • 14
    Font - Sherinz89 19 hr. ago Employers are stupid this way If they uses their brain occassionally they would have find out that providing for experienced and very skilled workers are a lot less expansive than finding a replacement if those said workers decided to leave for better pasture
    via u/Sherinz89
  • 15
    Font - brownhotdogwater 22 hr. ago They have a bad HR department. They should have ran the numbers on empolyee flight and saw a raise was a good idea. Of course some managers can't see that and just look at budget. 158 Reply Share
    via u/brownhotdogwater
  • 16
    Font - Silver_Vegetable6804 · 21 hr. ago I'm willing to bet the raise request never made it to HR or even left the managers office after the meeting. ↑ 167 Reply Share
    via u/Silver_Vegetable6804
  • 17
    Font - bigbura 21 hr. ago Gambled and lost, is what we call that. Does everybody understand this dynamic? That to some managers what you get paid is something to be joked about? "I got Sam on board for pay
    via u/bigbura
  • 18
    Font - under the pay band the job is allotted, don't I look so spiffy?" That's your life they are playing around with. If you don't understand this pay and benefits thing is just so much gambling to them then you are already a step or three behind the curve. 107 Reply Share
    via u/bigbura
  • 19
    Font - whpsh 19 hr. ago It's rarely the middle manager's fault. At some point, up the chain, there is a person who's entire job revolves around wage suppression. And yes, this one individual cost the business to replace. But if that person is
    via u/whpsh
  • 20
    Font - successful across 10 or 15 other people in keeping their salary 3k to 5k under market, then they beat their budget and get a bonus at the end of the year. Productivity and job enjoyment of the "peasants" be dar ned. ↑ 51 Reply Share
    via u/whpsh
  • 21
    Font - Emotional-Price-4401 · 20 hr. ago Hiring budgets are always more generous than the budget for raises, businesses rely on peoples resistance to change and not wanting ot do the 'work' of finding a new job
    via u/Emotional-Price-4401
  • 22
    Font - never stop looking always keep leaving (until you find the place that gives you the most of what you want of course) ↑ 22 Reply Share
    via u/Emotional-Price-4401
  • 23
    Font - islandchica56 · 18 hr. ago This is almost exactly what just happened to me at my job- a coworker got sick and left. I kept asking when they were going to hire a replacement and kept getting no-answer
    via u/islandchica56
  • 24
    Font - responses. I've absorbed most of her work and now, I don't have enough time to do everything they want me to do. I begged for them to hire an assistant. something. anything. Nothing happened.
    via u/islandchica56
  • 25
    Font - So I got an offer for a senior position at another company, along with 10k raise. So instead of just hiring an assistant or junior position, they now have to replace me and my old coworker. They had the
    via u/islandchica56
  • 26
    Font - audacity to ask what it would take to make me stay, to which I told them "hire an assistant for me" and then got told "thanks for all your hard work over the years."
    via u/islandchica56

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management replacement salary boss payback-reddit workplace-stories employee new hire work it quit raise Horrible Bosses Reddit high tech quitting employment junior
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