'You'll have to... work without the benefits': Employee surprises boss with vacation request after boss refuses to give them a raise and benefits

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 8, 2023 11:00 AM EDT

Despite being a hard worker, this employee just didn't have what it took to get a promotion. 

They old saying goes that hard work pays off, but that isn't always the case. In some jobs, you can work as hard as you possibly can, clocking in overtime hours or covering multiple jobs for other people. Unless you have a management team that plans to move you up, all that hard work won't matter at all. In fact, your boss might appreciate your hard work, and decide you're so good at getting things done that they don't want to move you from your position at all. 

This person's boss told them they couldn't move up because they didn't have the proper college degree. That must have been frustrating, because if the OP was qualified for the job already, a degree shouldn't matter. Plus, it seems like the boss was really taking advantage of this guy. At least there's a happy ending to this tale of malicious compliance. Commenters advised the OP to try to care more about benefits in their future workplace. Live and learn, OP. 

Up next, take a bite out of these strange pizzas topped with the most quirky and questionable ingredients imaginable. 

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  • 01
    Gesture - 'My boss told me that they would love to have me work on that team... but I wouldn't get the title, salary, or benefits without an MBA.'
    via LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash
  • 02
    Font - If you want the promotion, you'll have to be willing to work without the benefits. M OC The entry level position at my old company is a revolving door. The pay is low, the work is unrewarding, and the expectations are unattainably high for the vast majority of the staff. The average time in that position is 6 months.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 03
    Font - This is by design. It's a position that requires minimal training and there are plenty of applicants willing to work for minimum wage. It's actually a really great entry into the field and uses all of the industry standard practices and tools. Most people use it as a launching point for a successful career and move on to a higher paying job after half a year.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 04
    Font - One of the cool things about the position is that they offer a great perk for paid time off. You get 1 hour of PTO for every 30 hours worked. There are no caps on accrual or limits on usage.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 05
    Font - It's a great way to attract recent college grads to the position. They feel like they're getting a great benefit, and the company knows that they'll be gone in 6 months anyway, so they don't end up paying for a lot of time off.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 06
    Font - I took the job fully expecting to be gone within a year, but I ended up thriving in the position. My bosses were impressed, and they offered me raises if I would stay with the company and increase my scope of responsibility. Every time I started to think that my career was stagnating, they would make staying in that position worth it.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 07
    Font - After a couple of years, I had learned enough that I felt confident in my ability to take on a mid-level role, so I asked for consideration. The mid-level role comes with benefits and a salary, along with a title that would look great on my resume. The drawback was that this position has a cap of 4 days of PTO usage per year. Still, it would be a great stepping stone in my career, so I was eager to move up.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 08
    Font - The only problem is that the mid- level position hires from a pool of candidates with an MBA, which I don't have. My boss told me that they would love to have me work on that team, and would give me a good raise, but I wouldn't get the title, salary, or benefits without an MBA.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 09
    Font - Works for me. I know how to write a resume and present myself in an interview, so the title is meaningless as long as I'm doing the work of that role. The pay increase would be great leverage while I search for a new job.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 10
    Font - And I don't need the benefits. I don't need to be on the company's health care plan because I get free healthcare from the VA. I don't need their 401k plan because my wife's company has a better one. I don't need their student loan repayment benefits because the GI bill paid for my degree.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 11
    Font - So I took the promotion, but I kept my original title. I don't think they realized that this means I also kept my original PTO structure, and at my new pay rate, giving me that much PTO would be kind of expensive.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 12
    Font - After about a year in that position, I was ready to move on. I told my boss I wanted to use all of my available PTO and he said, "No problem! Enjoy your 4 days!" "No, you don't understand. I'm still a [entry level job title]. I'm off for the next 6 weeks."
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 13
    Font - I actually did take a month off and had a great time. Then I started job hunting full-time and quickly got offers. When my PTO was over, I came back to the company with my two-weeks notice.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 14
    Font - The timing was bad for the company because they didn't plan on spending that much on PTO that quarter. I hope they've revisited their decision to tell me that I was capable of doing a job but not qualified for the benefits of that job.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 15
    Human body - CedarHill601 What MBA works for 4 days of vacation a year?!
    via u/CedarHill601
  • 16
    Rectangle - yottabit42 Is no one else going to mention the erred reasoning about the 401k?
    via u/yottabit42
  • 17
    Font - delusionaldork. Terrible benefits. Ive never worked, full time, at a company that gave such low pto. 1.25 hours a week is 1.5 weeks a year.
    via u/delusionaldork
  • 18
    Font - [deleted] 1.5 weeks a year. That's less than half the legal minimum for a regular full time employee in my country, and you get all holidays off on top of that and don't need sick days to stay home sick. Honestly, it's insane what companies in the US are permitted to do to their employees.
    via u/deleted

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promotion jobs work stories job malicious compliance work malicious-compliance-reddit underpaid minimum wage workplace entry level benefits
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