Boss accidentally sends out spreadsheet with entire company's salaries, employee finds out they're making $15k less than coworker with same job: 'We were hired within months of each other and have similar experience'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Oct 21, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

Sometimes a simple goof-up can change everything. Usually, this is reserved for the plots of movies. Someone finds a critical piece of evidence at the exact right time, and everything comes crashing down. A slip of paper is left on the floor, waiting to be discovered. Someone accidentally lets a secret slip after one too many martinis. A key dangles just outside the prison bars, waiting to be snatched. But this type of serendipity rarely happens in real life. Until it does.

That's what happened to one employee after a mistakenly sent email uncovered a whole world of injustice. After years of loyalty to a company, they thought they were being fairly compensated. But once they discovered what everyone was taking home, they were left with a bitter taste in their mouths. They wondered if they should stay at the company and fight for better pay or just leave everyone who betrayed them in the dust. After a simple mistake exposed everything, they weren't sure what to do. So they reached out to the internet for help, which it provided in spades. 

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  • 01
    An employee looks at his computer with his face in his hands, shocked.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Some saw this as the boss's secret way to help out their employee. Others saw it as a classic symptom of a broken system. Everyone agreed that this employee was being taken advantage of, and tried to give them advice on getting out of it. Scroll on to read the full story and find out what happened. 

  • 02

    My boss accidentally sent me a spreadsheet with everyone's salaries...

    Boss meant to send me a different file but instead I got the master salary spreadsheet for our whole department. Turns out I'm making 15k less than my coworker who does the exact same job. We were hired within months of each other and have similar experience. The new guy who started last year? He's making more than me too.
    via u/Excaliblarg
  • 03
    I've been here 2 years and got "great reviews" every time. Apparently that translated to 2% raises while they're bringing people in at way higher rates. Not sure what to do with this info but I'm definitely not forgetting what I saw. Time to update the resume I guess.
    via u/Excaliblarg
  • 04

    Commenters chimed in with their thoughts.

    Train DonutBBQ · 1h ago . You and your co-workers should have been speaking openly about your salaries all along. From now on, you should do that. Begin looking for a new job, demand a raise. Quit if you don't get one.
    via u/TrainDonutBBQ
  • 05
    tdomman⚫ 1h ago Are you sure your boss wasn't trying to help you out?
    via u/tdomman
  • 06
    Maplelongjohn ⚫ 1h ago • Accidentally forward company wide
    via u/Maplelongjohn
  • 07
    Kitten-ekor 1h ago • Omg the exact same thing happened to me years ago! My employer at the time outsourced payroll to another company, and this company accidently sent me a master spreadsheet with everyone's salary because I have the same first name as the Director's assistant!
    via u/Kitten-ekor
  • 08
    I saw that a guy who had been hired later, with fewer qualifications was earning significantly more than me for the same role. I confronted HR about it. They gave me some BS excuse about how they had to offer a "competitive salary" to get this guy, whereas I had originally started with the company as a temp. Then I just quit. I'm aware "just quitting" one's job may not be an option though...
    via u/Kitten-ekor
  • 09
    A man sits at a desk trying to comprehend what's on his computer.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 10
    cas2011h ago The only ever real raises you get is if you move on constantly while increasing your education. I never stay at a job more than two years. Or until I learn everything there is to know about it. (Computer networking)
    via u/cas201
  • 11
    L1A1 1h ago . Rename it and print out a copy (to make it more difficult to trace!), then do a bunch of photocopies a few days later. and leave them lying around everywhere. Sit back and watch the chaos unfurl.
    via u/L1A1
  • 12
    the01li3 1h ago • I hate that the best way to get a pay rise is just to move jobs... But yeah you can use this info to ask for more money, if they refuse... work your pay, do 15k less work than the other fella.
    via u/the01li3
  • 13
    Kuunkulta ⚫ 1h ago Sounds to me like you're due a 15k raise
    via u/Kuunkulta
  • 14
    miz_nyc 1h ago • Something similar like this happened to me. Found out 1 of my direct peers (male) was making close to 13k more than me & another direct peer (we're both women). She and I bought it up in our reviews and the excuses they gave were terrible.
    via u/miz_nyc
  • 15
    We both left that firm within a year, for much higher pay. The firm was upset, they felt like we weren't being fair. That's bullshit, they could have just paid us all the same. They just didn't want to.
    via u/miz_nyc
  • 16
    KuroNoShadow · 1h ago Just "accidentally" print 50 copies
    via u/KuroNoShadow
  • 17
    MountainLiving4us • 2h ago Call him out on it .. Watch his face really close..
    via u/MountainLiving4us
  • 18
    GFTRGC 56m ago . Non-zero chance your boss did this as a favor to you so maybe don't throw him under the bus about this spreadsheet when you start negotiating. I'd go to him privately and ask politely for a salary adjustment
    via u/GFTRGC
  • 19
    to catch you up to your peers, this is called a true up and happens fairly frequently, the thing is, that most companies won't allow managers to request this unless an employee asks... so you need to ask. After you ask, your manager can request it for you. I'd start there before updating your resume and starting to leave.
    via u/GFTRGC
  • 20
    . pwuk 1h ago loyalty costs money
    via u/pwuk
  • 21
    Havocc89 · 1h ago This sucks man, been there, I used to do some hiring work for a contractor, and to keep up with the huge hiring push (was for a government contract) my boss hired two or three temps to get as many resumes checked and do data entry, and I got a friend hired as he was in
    via u/Havocc89
  • 22
    between jobs. Well, we were talking and it came out he was getting about $3 more than me, FOR DOING A SINGLE ASPECT OF MY JOB. My position was essentially both secretary and data entry of many things, and he was getting $3 more for doing one specific, narrow aspect of the data entry component. My relationship toward my boss fundamentally changed after that, and I quit not long after.
    via u/Havocc89
  • 23
    Mysterious-Meat7712 1h ago • Should be common knowledge anyways. I would look at it as a favor, thank your boss for the information, and ask him what his plans are to resolve the gap.
    via u/Mysterious-Meat7712
  • 24
    Lookitsanthony8 45m ago Did you ask for a raise once you learned this information? Set up a meeting with boss/HR... "I was accidentally sent a spreadsheet containing pay information of employees that are equal to me. I am not blaming anyone for this mistake
    via u/Lookitsanthony8
  • 25
    and whats in the past is done but it has brought to my attention that i am highly underpaid in comparison to my coworkers in which my performance and successes match if not exceed. I would like to be brought up to an equal pay rate." If they say no, pack up.
    via u/Lookitsanthony8
  • 26
    A lot of companies have a budget range to negotiate salaries and it could have been the simple fact that they negotiated more. However a lot of companies are also assholes so be prepared to leave if you do not get your worth.
    via u/Lookitsanthony8
  • 27
    Maverick916 · 57m ago I just want to say that I have a union protected job and everyone that starts in any given position starts at the same rate, regardless of experience, and it's very nice. I also happen to be one of the payroll people so I see what everyone makes and those starting salaries are not bad at all
    via u/Maverick916
  • 28
    ku_78.57m ago I had a boss send out a report showing remaining PTO and the budget hit for each person. She wasn't a math person so had no idea that we could calculate everyone's salary.
    via u/ku_78
  • 29
    Sufficient-Meet6127 51m ago Salary history, job market, and negotiation skills are important. A lot of us are job-hugging because the job market is not as good as when we got hired and our market rate has dropped.
    via u/Sufficient-Meet6127
  • 30
    Magician Ok6393 • 46m ago I found a list of everyone's salaries with notes by each name of the percentage of raise they would be getting-it was left in the copier. The bias and favoritism was outrageous! I made 10 copies and left the original in the copier. I went in early the next day and posted them in the break rooms and above the coffee stations. Shit blew up. Quite rightly.
    via u/MagicianOk6393

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salary boss antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working reddit story toxic-boss workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit mistake toxic-work-environment
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