'The hypocrisy is unreal': Employee complains to CEO about delay in raises, CEO insists low pay is ‘a good thing’, employee quits job as a response

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Dec 3, 2024 9:00 AM EST

In every job, there is a red line that once crossed, it becomes crystal clear that you should not spend another minute in that place of work. Most employees might be willing to push through a lot of nonsense for the sake of their job, but they all have a limit, and when that limit is crossed, it is time to move on.

The employee in this Reddit story was willing to put up with 60 hours of work per week, working weekends and nights, delayed raises, and many other red flags. The red line was when the CEO told them that low pay is actually a 'good thing' because it helps employees be 'more responsible and resourceful with their income'. Once the employee heard these words come out of their CEO's mouth, a man who most definitely doesn't have low pay himself, they knew it was time to become responsible with their income and find another job.

Keep scrolling to read how this employee got out of this toxic workplace situation. Up next, check out this story of a woman who refused help with her flat tire, and the 'petty revenge' that followed.

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    Cheezburger Image 10436062464
    via vgajic

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    Was told "Low pay is a good thing because it entices you to be more responsible and resourceful." by the CEO
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    I took a tech job and worked there for 2 years. I was consistently putting in ~60 hours per week, working nights and weekends, including holiday weekends. The last year I was there, the CEO delayed raises and
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    said we didn't meet our profit goals for the fiscal year, so raises were going to be delayed (I was already making below market average).
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    6 months later, I was fed up. The raise still hadn't come. My boss was very passive-aggressive (all of leadership at this company was like this) but the CEO was visiting the area where I was. We got
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    lunch and I expressed my annoyance with the amount of work I'm doing and the lack of compensation I'm getting for it, including being stiffed on a raise during reviews. He grinned at me,
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    tilted his head a bit to the side and said "Ya know, low pay is a good thing for you because it entices you to be more responsible and resourceful with your income. If you're concerned
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    about pay, perhaps you should look into an accountant to help you manage your finances." I couldn't believe that I was hearing. I kept it cool and tried to reiterate my point professionally
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    (in case he missed it), but the blame kept getting pointed to me. I was seeing red for a whole day after that conversation. 2 months later, I landed a new job that was nearly double the pay and I walked out without
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    leaving a two-week notice. I guess I should have picked up on the red flags on my first day when that same CEO said "We're really good people here.". Yeah, you shouldn't have to say that if it's true.
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    Never accept poor treatment for as long as I did. You owe your employer nothing. If we learn to value and stick up for ourselves, perhaps they can be the ones who will unionize and negotiate with their union on how to treat us better.
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    KrookedDoesStuff • 9h ago • If low pay is good why is the CEO taking more than his employees?
    via KrookedDoesStuff
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    Difficult-Square-623 OP 9h ago • Good question. I forgot to add, this was somebody who owned 2 Lamborghinis, an Escalade and a home with a 3 or 4 car garage. Or so I was told. The hypocrisy is unreal with some of these people.
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    Sdswingr 9h ago • • Nice job just walking without notice
    via Sdswingr
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    Dif... OP 8h ago ⚫Edited 8h ago • I initially wasn't going to. I'm the type who prefers to take the high road in cases like this. But a friend of mine said "They wouldn't give you a two week noticed if they axed you, so why should you give
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    them one?". I said that was a good point, came into the office on my last day, left my equipment at my desk, signed out of all the apps on my phone, walked out and never looked back. I didn't even bother answering their calls when they called me. I took that
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    nice 2 week vacation for myself, because I really needed it (even though I'd already used up the rest of my PTO the week prior). EDIT: If any of you are going to do this, consider making sure you get the new job offer in hand,
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    signed AND the employment verification check was completed by your new employer before you proceed. The timing on my walkout date had to be right, otherwise I could have sc ved
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    myself if my old employer had said I never worked there or claimed I was inaccurate in my job title/leave date.
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    Difficult-Square-623 OP 7h ago • idkw any one is surprised or even attempts to vent to management or HR. You are literally wasting your breath. When you're in your 20s, relatively new to the workforce and didn't have a father to teach you these lessons, you learn them the hard way yourself.
    via Difficult-Square-623
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    NectarineNational722 • 8h ago • Should have sent an email to the CEO on your last day before you walked out. "I followed your advice and used my resourcefulness and found a much better position
    via NectarineNational722
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    phillypharm ⚫8h ago • How can you hire an accountant with your low pay?...
    via phillypharm
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    brilliant-trash22 • 8h ago • "Okay David, how about you give me some of your CEO pay so it'll help you be more responsible and resourceful with paying your employees a living wage"
    via brilliant-trash22
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    HGLatinBoy 8h ago • He's right low pay should make you realize that it would be irresponsible not to find a better paying job and you should be resourceful when you search for a better job.
    via HGLatinBoy
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    justisme333 .5h ago • The same CEO will soon be complaining about staff turnover and 'no one wants to work anymore'
    via justisme333

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job tales-from-the-workplace reddit story ceo raise pay raise overworked-employees workplace Reddit company funny money
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