Loyal employee discovers company is hiring for their exact position at 30% more pay, decides to quit after boss refuses to give them a raise: 'They can figure it out when I leave'

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Feb 6, 2026 4:00 AM EST

We all have a limit to how long we are willing to stick around working at one workplace without a sense of progress, especially when it concerns pay raises.

How long do you think an employee should stay at a job without getting a raise or a promotion? Two years? Or maybe four? There must be a limit, a big shiny clock that rings when time is up, announcing it's better to start looking for a new place.

The funny thing is, or more accurately, the sad thing is, that it happens in almost every workplace. Bosses, for some reason, don't like giving their employees more money and would do anything to keep it that way. This means that for you to be able to earn your worth, you have to hop between jobs every few years, because staying in one place is no longer the most profitable decision.

It's even more sad, however, to learn that your company has no problem paying more for your role; they just don't want to pay you more, which is exactly what happened in the story below. This employee has been working for their company for three years now, and has only gotten one $3k raise since, after they were told "the budget was too tight."

The employee was willing to accept their fate until they discovered that their company posted their exact position on Indeed, for almost $20k more than what they are currently getting paid. This led the employee to confront their boss, who basically confirmed that they would rather pay more to an inexperienced stranger than to provide their loyal employee with a proper raise.

This led to the only conclusion possible for the hardworking employee–they would make much more if they left. The company can now look for two employees while offering a higher salary, and they can figure out the rest themselves.

How would you react if you found out your company is willing to pay more for your role, just not pay you more for it? Keep scrolling to read the full story below, and share your thoughts in the comments below. After that, check out this story of a resident who blocked their neighbor's car with snow.

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  • Employee handing in their resignation lettel
    via 89Stocker

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

  • Found out my company is hiring for my exact position at $18k more than what I make

    I've been working as a logistics coordinator for this mid sized distribution company in Ohio for almost 3 years now.
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • Started at 42k, got bumped to 45k last year after basically begging for a raise. They told me budget was tight and that was the best they could do.
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • Yesterday I was showing my friend some stuff on Indeed because shes job hunting and I decided to search my own company name just out of curiosity.
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • And there it is, my exact same position, same responsibilities I do every single day, listed for 60k to 63k.
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • I literally do the exact job they're advertising. I brought it up to my manager this morning trying to stay calm about it and he got all defensive saying "thats the market rate for new hires" and "we cant adjust everyones salary every time we post a new position." Like what??
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • So you're telling me someone walking in off the street with zero knowledge of our systems is worth 15k more than me who literally trained the last two people in this role?
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • 'I QUIT!' sign taped on work computer
    via Riccardo_Mojana

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

  • They've been saying for months theres no room in the budget for raises. I have money saved up in case something like this happened but I didnt think it would actually be this bad.
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • I'm done. Already updated my resume and im applying to every competitor in the area. If they can pay someone else 63k to do my job they can figure it out when I leave.
    via PositivelyIrrespons
  • NoContribution9322 Quit and reapply for the position...
    via NoContribution9322
  • NODsBlackHand There is also a chance they are looking to hire someone for the same salary as you and are using bait and switch to lure people in.
    via NODsBlackHan
  • RJRoyalRules Similar thing happened at my job years ago, they told us for two years they couldn't afford any raises, then they hired a new guy to do the same job as the rest of us and we found out he was getting almost 20k more than everyone else. When we confronted them they hemmed and hawed but nothing happened until I quit and they suddenly had the cash to give me a big raise. Best thing to do is get out of there as soon as it's feasible.
    via RJRoyalRules
  • high_throughput "Hmm.. You're saying that this company punishes loyalty and rewards job hoppers?"
    via high_throughput
  • ConsultantForLife "There's no money in the budget for raises" actually means "We didn't put money in the budget for raises".
    via ConsultantForLife
  • Nemesis_Destiny It's just like when the phone or Internet company offers better rates to new subscribers. You want the best deal? Shop around.
    via Nemesis_Destiny
  • Bored_Eastly They are probably lying about how much they will pay the new person, but still it's messed up.
    via Bored_Eastly
  • CollegeNW Apply!!
    via CollegeNW
  • kyle1234513 the best power play you can do is "i quit effecitve immediately, you can now hire 2 new people at 60k, or you can hire me at 60k and 1 new person at 60k, your choice." but unfortunately its just bait to get applications in, where theyll lowball in the interview.
    via kyle1234513
  • Stolen Wishes To be paid what you're worth, job hopping is the best way - perhaps the only way.
    via StolenWishes

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boss workplace-stories employee manager job tales-from-the-workplace resigning raise pay raise overworked-employees workplace company
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