‘I love it when karma kicks in’: Server denied scheduled raise, starts acting her wage, boss forced to reconsider

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Feb 3, 2024 2:00 PM EST

When workers are denied scheduled raises, it should come as no surprise to their bosses when they start quiet quitting. Or for those of us who understand what quiet quitting actually is, acting our wage. Not only was this part-time server overextending and taking on more duties than she was being paid for, but also her boss had become reliant on her taking on those extra responsibilities. Those of us who have been in similar positions understand this conundrum all too well. 

However, this Redditor was a college student and was new to the workforce. So when she was denied a raise, she came to understand that going the extra mile does not necessarily prove to your manager that you are worthy of a promotion. There are enough shady managers out there that view your level of commitment as cause for taking advantage of that dedication.

Keep scrolling below for the full play-by-play. Hopefully, now OP's manager understands who that although she is a student, she is not to be messed with when it comes to her pay. For more stories like this, check out this post about a guy who got back at his disrespectful coworker.

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  • 01
    r/r/MaliciousCompliance Posted D by u/not_j17 11 hours ago No scheduled raise? I'll only do entry level duties. S OC I [F19] work part time at a restaurant. I was brought on when I was 16 as a hostess and got to wait tables and bartend at 18. I really love it, I've made friends with many of my colleagues, it's close to school, and my boss is really flexible.
    via u/not_j17
  • 02
    I was scheduled to get a raise last week (I don't make a waitress wage and I don't receive those tips), but the minimum wage in my state got raised and my boss said that I don't need a raise anymore because of it. Im one of the oldest employees, I'm trained in every post, and I do what I'm asked because I respect my higher ups and I'm in a good mood when I'm at work. So now that I'm barely making more than new hire hostesses, I'm only doing hostess duties. I've had way more time to study when it
    via u/not_j17
  • 03
    It took a while for my boss to notice the difference my lack of presence made, and when he confronted me I told him what I said above and that there wasn't anything he could do about it unless I got my scheduled raise. I know there's no negotiating being paid a waitress wage but maybe now I'll get my raise since it's costing him to fill what were my positions.
    via u/not_j17
  • 04
    neophenx 11 hr. ago You're going to get people mad at you, telling you that you should go above and beyond to prove you deserve the wage. But many of us have done that for years without any raises actually happening, since the bosses in those cases don't have a reason to pay more for extra labor they're already getting. Some have called it "quiet quitting" over the last couple years, I call it "acting my wage."
    via u/not_j17
  • 05
    on maroongrad . 11 hr. ago Request a BIG raise. If he's got to hire more staff or pay more hours to cover for you, it's still going to save him money. Let him know that you're perfectly happy to continue at your current level at your current pay, it's working out well for you. If he won't pay the amount you ask, SERIOUSLY, keep doing what you are doing and either it will happen, or he'll be wasting money on more workers and you'll have plenty of study time and very little stress.
    via u/not_j17
  • 06
    LON 11093 PlusDays 10 hr. ago When I was a young nurse but fully training and licensed I was forced to work as an aide and payed that lower salary for three month because I didn't have experience. I was the best damned aide they ever had and refused to perform any nursing tasks that were not in my job description for that 90 days. at the end of 90 days I was so hated they had to move me to another unit to start my job as a nurse lol. I was popular on the new unit because I was a very good nurse
    via u/not_j17
  • 07
    dbwhite6450. 11 hr. ago I love it when karma kicks in! Well done!
    via u/not_j17
  • 08
    not_j17 OP 11 hr. ago . Me too...I do kinda miss it though. All the time I have now is getting boringggg
    via u/not_j17
  • 09
    Puzzleheaded-Cup-854. 10 hr. ago Find another job. If you're getting min wage, should not be that hard. Managers hate having to hire.
    via u/not_j17
  • 10
    zeroingenuity 10 hr. ago | I love post- pandemic labor. I've been saying for three years that this is the best (US) labor market of our entire lives and people are really starting to feel it. Tell your bosses to pay what you're worth.
    via u/not_j17
  • 11
    dynamitediscodave. 10 hr. ago Work to your contract. The end. None of the of if you're not 15min early, you're 15min late as well.
    via u/not_j17
  • 12
    0490 maccers1969 - 9 hr. ago Minimum pay, minimum effort, good job.
    via u/not_j17
  • 13
    Charles Darkwing22. 7 hr. ago Hi, long time employer here. Great job. If he wants you doing more, he can pay for it. My employees get scheduled raises and it's always a solid amount above minimum because u value them more than minimum. A business which can't afford to pay workers fairly does not deserve to exist.
    via u/not_j17
  • 14
    LibraryMouse4321 10 hr. ago Start applying for other jobs. Either you get a better job or you get the raise you deserve when they realize they can lose you.
    via u/not_j17
  • 15
    theinfernumflame. 10 hr. ago Well done! Too many companies act like we should be grateful for the opportunity to give our all to bail out their bad decisions. Kind of reminds me of my situation. I care about this job, and I used to go above and beyond to make sure I could keep people happy here. But between the raise I was supposed to get never happening, missing overtime wages (working on getting that resolved), and entitled blow-hards trying to claim I never do my job (even though I can prove
    via u/not_j17

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Reddit workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job malicious compliance server work malicious-compliance-reddit server life reddit thread toxic-work-environment
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