Boss Refuses to Give Hardworking Employee a Promotion Because of Uncharacteristically Negative Performance Review

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Nov 25, 2023 9:00 AM EST

Getting feedback from your superiors is one of the best ways to grow in a job. You might feel like you're doing a good job and are doing everything right, but your boss might have a different idea of what success in your position looks like. Even if it's hard to hear, getting harsh feedback early is better than getting it when it's too late to fix your mistakes. 

One worker recently went viral on Reddit after sharing his story of being strung along for a promotion. He had gotten nothing but positive feedback all year, and when the time came for annual reviews, he got a scathing report. Luckily, this guy understood the situation for what it was: a manipulation tactic that only happened to make him work harder without any chance of him getting ahead. If you've ever been strung along for a promotion you were never going to get, this story might hit home. 

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  • 01
    r/antiwork u/X0036AU2XH • 6h After being promised a promotion for a year, getting 50-55 hours of work a week dumped on me in October and positive feedback throughout to keep the carrot of the promotion ahead of me - got a scathing review that prevented promotion
    via u/X0036AU2XH
  • 02
    Boss gave me so much positive feedback at our regular check-ins just to get me to keep overworking then gave me a scathing review full of -1s and -2s when it would have been time to promote me.
    via u/X0036AU2XH
  • 03
    Just a reminder to never trust them. I've already secured another job that, unfortunately, won't start until after the holidays (so January.) I'll need to stay at this job until at least December 1 for insurance purposes, ideally would wait until the end of the month to resign for financial reasons. It's going to be a slog to have to pretend to not be completely checked out.
    via u/X0036AU2XH
  • 04
    justelectricboogie. 6h It's a typical human resources ploy. Feed them positive vibes as the days go on. Hit them with negative vibes on evaluation. It's a game that is supposed to save them money and push you to be more productive. 4792 Reply
    via u/justelectricboogie
  • 05
    X0036AU2XH OP. 6h I'm honestly just disappointed with myself that I actually fell for it this time. I'm going to enjoy quitting this one as they just announced to a very big external partner that I'm their main contact at my company and we launch basically the day I plan to quit. ... 4527
    via u/X0036AU2XH
  • 06
    charlie2135 • 4h If they try to talk you out of it, say "Oh I don't think you could possibly trust me with such an important customer after telling me how poorly a job I've done " with a grin on your face. 4328 ...
    via u/charlie2135
  • 07
    Standard-Reception90 • 3h Write your resignation letter on the back of your review and draw a big red arrow for your reason for leaving. ... 4240
    via u/Standard-Reception90
  • 08
    RahulRedditor . 6h I'm honestly just disappointed with myself that I actually fell for it this time. Don't beat yourself up. Bosses, managers, etc. have the outward appearance of human beings, so it's easy to forget they're not. I'm going to enjoy quitting this one as they just announced to a very big external partner that I'm their main contact at my company and we launch basically the day I plan to quit. This is beautiful. Please give us an update when that hits their fan. (They may actually c
    via u/RahulRedditor
  • 09
    fullyvaxxed2022 • 4h You responded to this by getting another job. This is the proper response. Just make sure you give notice on the Friday before you start at the new place. When they ask why you are leaving without giving 2 week's notice, you tell them that you feel no obligation to do so after being lied to for over a year. ... Reply 282
    via u/fullyvaxxed2022
  • 10
    Rendakor 3h Don't do that. If you have vacation time left, schedule it the first week(s) of your new job. After that, call out sick. Must have caught something on your vacation. Burn up your sick time, then call out some more. String them along. "Maybe I'll make it in tomorrow boss, I don't know." ... G 4 72 ¹
    via u/Rendakor
  • 11
    Spider-Kat 4h ● Don't even pretend not to be checked out. Immediately start working exactly the minimum (I'm assuming 40 hours). Leave on time, don't make yourself available for any special projects or extra work, don't volunteer to help out your boss or your coworkers, and just do the minimum for the next 4 weeks. Quit right before the holiday, enjoy the week of off, and start your new job fresh in January.
    via u/Spider-Kat
  • 12
    Also just want to add, from a manager point of view your boss sucks. Check-ins should be frequent and feedback should be given regularly so by the time you get to a performance review, there are no surprises and it becomes about working toward shared goals in the next year. If you got a bad review that you didn't see coming, your boss was doing something wrong the whole time. Make sure you highlight that in your exit interview. Reply 4 114 ...
    via u/Spider-Kat
  • 13
    Vinral. 5h If you have any of the positive feedbacks in emails, document those for when they ask why you're leaving and hand those in with the conflicting review. ... ← Reply 132
    via u/Vinral
  • 14
    Over Power Bottom • 3h ● OP, please resign immediately on Jan. 2, and not a day before unless you really want to or your new job has a non-compete clause you have to sign. I think when you start your new job, sometimes insurance doesn't kick in until a certain amount of time has passed. If you leave in January, you still get to keep your insurance for that month at least while you wait for the new insurance to kick in. You can of course, use COBRA or whatever alternative you have, but why do tha
    via u/OverPowerBottom
  • 15
    This is also the perfect time to reduce your output and stop double checking your work - it's the holidays! If you're ever questioned why you're slowing down, just say family obligations during the holiday season has gotten crazy and that you'll have more capacity once all the madness is over in January (lol). They've screwed you pretty badly, I wouldn't give any notice until day of. If they know you're leaving, they'll make you produce training materials for your replacement and will micromanag
    via u/OverPowerBottom

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reviews promotion boss antiwork employee review toxic-workplace work promotions raise employees toxic-boss workplace hardworking toxic-work-environment
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