Coworker convinces clueless new boss to give her a fellow teacher's job because it pays $1.5k more, can't handle it: 'She's getting my 1.5K stipend now, but I no longer have to deal with extra meetings, extra parent phone calls, miscommunication, etc.'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Aug 28, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

Extra pay isn't always worth the added stress, time, and responsibility. I think that's something we often forget while we're dreaming of our prospective climb up the career ladder. 

Sure, additional income is always nice, but what is the cost in return? For example, say you're already in a salaried position, and the next rung up the ladder, a promotion to a management role, would net you a few dollars more an hour. Sounds great, right? But, by the time you figure in that you have to work 10 hours more a week, that extra pay really isn't all that much. And when you figure in the burden of responsibility and the stress of having to have the hard conversations with the higher-ups instead of being able to tuck your head and get on with your work, you might quickly find yourself wishing you had stayed right where you were.

This reluctance to climb the career ladder has been a recent trend that has been reported on more and more frequently. These articles usually target "Gen Z," who have seemingly taken over from Millennials as the trendy punching bag age demographic, as the fresh young faces who are defying the age-old working tradition of throwing yourself at the career wall until you break. However, I've seen the same thing happening with Millennial workers who opt to take 4-day workweeks, even though it may sideline them from promotions, choosing instead to spend time with loved ones and pursue personal interests.

This teacher held a leadership position amongst their fellow teachers, which would usually be something like a Head of Department. These roles generally have added responsibilities above what a normal teacher would have in the general administration of the staff and students' activities. Sometimes they're actual promotions, and sometimes they're like bonus responsibilities with an added stipend. 

This teacher held a position that was something like that, until a backstabbing coworker managed to get their new boss on her side, stealing the leadership from the teacher.

Well, sometimes you play with fire and you get burned, and the coworker quickly learned that she didn't have the skills or experience to handle that extra responsibility in any sort of timely fashion. On the flip side, the teacher found that she kind of liked not having to deal with so many angry parents on the phone for only $1.5k a year more.

Good luck to all those teachers out there returning to school after a long and hot summer. We're rooting for you!

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  • 01
    Two women discuss the contents of a folder in a classroom
    via A. C.

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02

    "Colleague stole my position and now I get to watch her struggle worse than I did in it"

    I'm a teacher at a decently affluent public school. For the most part, I love my job. I've made genuine friends among staff members and the students make the hard work worth it. There are, of course, the negative parts of teaching you always hear about: low pay, grading on off hours, etc. But for the most part, the deal has been good.
    via StoneofForest
  • 03
    A few years back, I was recognized by my old boss as a potential leader in the building. He stressed to me that I was very data oriented and likeable among my colleagues. I know my way around Google Sheets and Excel when it comes to collecting and organizing student data and am really solid with parent communication. I was hesitant but eventually I agreed and became a "leader" for a group of teachers and students at the school, in charge of organizing meetings, overall student educational succes
    via StoneofForest
  • 04
    Here's where things get messy: I have sensory processing disorder and mild hearing loss. It's hard to explain but sometimes I genuinely do not hear things correctly. Think if you said "I'm going to pick up Stacy", I might hear something like "I'm gone just wait and see". This happens at least once a day and usually isn't that big of a deal. Unfortunately it isn't curable but I manage.
    via StoneofForest
  • 05
    In meetings with my new boss, my new boss would push strategies that were based around focusing on students whose state test scores were almost passing. The idea was that you would focus on all students but give extra attention to these guys. These initiatives were never written down and I would find out later that was because the legality of such a thing is iffy at best. When these ideas
    via StoneofForest
  • 06
    were shared with me, I would constantly ask the boss after the meeting to repeat herself and then check my notes to make sure I heard her correctly. I noticed at the time that she was passively frustrated that I would do this, even though I explained I had a hearing disorder. Looking back, I wonder if she felt pressured knowing what we were doing wasn't kosher and if I made a bad impression.
    via StoneofForest
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    Two women discuss while standing next to a classroom white board
    via ThisisEngineering

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    Now to introduce the main character of the story, who I'll call Tenny, since she's the coach of the tennis team. Tenny is well liked by staff members for her years of service toward our community in a particular area. I also liked Tenny a lot and figured she'd be a great team member. Tenny, however, like my boss, became repeatedly frustrated when I would miss things she would say to me, especially in crowded high school hallways. Sometimes she would even shout something to me as she walked past
    via StoneofForest
  • 09
    There were at least five or six big moments that my hearing wasn't accommodated for when a simple email could have solved the problem. Just as one example, my new boss came into the hallway to let us know that an assembly location was being changed. We were to take the students to a new area, not the old one. Of course, I heard a change but I didn't hear the location. Tenny was
    via StoneofForest
  • 10
    the only one nearby. I tapped my ear (which I usually do to indicate I didn't hear something) and asked where we were going. Tenny quickly responded and walked away and I, once again, didn't understand. Cue me and my students walking into the assembly five minutes late after walking them around the building in confusion. My new boss asked what happened and I told her simply that I didn't hear her correctly.
    via StoneofForest
  • 11
    Weeks later, I was called into a meeting with my new boss and she told me that I was going to lose my leader position due to inconsistency and "disrespect toward colleagues". I asked her which colleagues and she told me that that was private. I asked her how I was disrespectful and she said that "sometimes you get frustrated when you say you can't hear things and tap your ear". I said that that was the ASL sign for "hear",
    via StoneofForest
  • 12
    as in, "I can't hear you". She said that I should have communicated that. I said that I've asked for written communication constantly. She said I shouldn't always expect it. I knew it was a losing game and any explanation I would provide would just be shot down. I loved the school and the community and fighting new boss was only going to lead to more problems.
    via StoneofForest
  • 13
    I shouldn't have been surprised when a school wide email went out that Tenny was getting the leader position. Tenny was praised by colleagues in Reply Alls and it was frustrating to say the least. I know that she was the one who complained and it was extremely bitter for me to see her rewarded for it.
    via StoneofForest
  • 14
    Cue the next school year. Tenny comes into my room and asks me for the student data sheets that I created with Google Sheets. I told her, truthfully, that even if I did share them with her that there wasn't anything she could do with them. I brought her over to my computer and showed her the formulas I worked with and how I needed to adjust them every time a new student, section, etc. was added to the roster. She then asked me if I could just continue updating these sheets outside of my leader p
    via StoneofForest
  • 15
    told her as professionally as possible that I would love to teach her how to do all of these things but would need a stipend to do so. She asked if any of the other leaders were doing what I did. I said they weren't. I was the only one and always had been. I'm a bit ashamed I didn't take joy in seeing Tenny's face go cold when she realized I wouldn't fold and there was nothing she could do except cope with hours of data work per year or become proficient with Sheets/Excel, something I knew she w
    via StoneofForest
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    And the real kicker: the parents. Parents of students 99% of the time are a joy to work with. I really mean that. It's so fun to work with the parents of the people I care the most about. But it's the 1% that make your life a living h II. I have overheard Tenny complaining about being on the phone with a 1% parent for 45 minutes, losing her entire grading time. A call like that would have taken me about 5 minutes tops since I have the experience of knowing how to stop circular arguments and get
    via StoneofForest
  • 17
    What has taken me minutes is taking Tenny sometimes hours. Yes, she's getting my 1.5K stipend now but I no longer have to deal with extra meetings, extra parent phone calls, miscommunication, etc. She's getting all the pain I got and more. I feel ashamed that I'm taking so much joy for this but Tenny made my life h I in a place I otherwise love. Have fun, Tenny!
    via StoneofForest
  • 18
    Popcorn... I hope if they offer you that title again, you don't accept without three times the previous amount Seriously. What you do is worth more than $40/week (I spitballed the math, but you get my idea).
    via StoneofForest
  • 19
    Voltairus Jesus all that for $1,500 ain't worth time investment
    via StoneofForest

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