'They panicked when I resigned': Top-performing employee quits after getting no raise in 3.5 years, suddenly management counteroffers with a 37% pay raise and profit sharing

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Feb 19, 2026 8:00 AM EST

This one goes out to all the employees who fear that the reason they are not properly compensated is that upper management is collecting higher salaries than they deserve.

This author was responsible for bringing millions of dollars in revenue to his company. He had two managers. The first was a friend who once mysteriously said that he was being taken care of monetarily during a difficult time for the company (more on that later). The second was a more standoffish type, the kind of guy that you wouldn't necessarily trust with giving you credit for your own projects.

Despite working at the company for almost half a decade, the employee had not received a proper raise in 3.5 years. When he discovered why that was, he uncovered far more foul play than he ever could have anticipated.

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  • During that aforementioned difficult period for the company, management informed employees that they would need to buckle down with fewer resources at their disposal. This new arrangement gave off the impression that it probably was not a good time for mid or low-level employees to start asking for raises.

    However, little did the author and his coworker know that upper management was actually collecting far more money than they should have during this so-called “challenging period." This naturally infuriated the author when he learned that all the people taking credit for his work were also taking a chunk of what could have been his salary.

    He ended up finding a better opportunity elsewhere, and when he submitted his letter of resignation, management suddenly panicked. Of course, at that point, nothing was going to convince this guy to stay at an organization with such morally ambiguous leadership at the center.

  • An employee argues with his manager in a workplace environment.
    via Sebastian Herrmann

    An employee argues with his manager in a workplace environment.

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

  • I work for a construction company as Project Manager, my friend from youth referred and got me the job, he was one of two managers in the company and above them was the company owner.
    via mekmid
  • Before I joined the story I was told (nothing in writing, was the company owner is looking to handover the company to employees through profit sharing schemes and eventually buying him out) My contract had a 6 month performance/remuneration review clause and 12 months after that.
    via mekmid
  • After 6 months I got nice 22% raise, I was doing good work and could be trusted delivering projects upto \~$3M.
    via mekmid
  • After that, things turned, I continued delivering more jobs, at one point $1M/month revenue job with patchy staffing that barely spoke English and a moody foreman that would decide not to show up randomly and relatively frequently.
    via mekmid
  • Anyways delivered that job on time, budget and minimal safety concerns, client happy. At the end of this job it is 2 years in the company, 1.5 years since pay rise, none was forthcoming.
    via mekmid
  • Roll into 2024 and 2025, work in the company slows down so the staff, me included, get told to button up, skimp on tools because the company doesn't have enough jobs to sustain a profit.
    via mekmid
  • So everyone does so, doesn't ask for any pay increases as we're all grateful for our jobs.
    via mekmid
  • Come end of 2025, 3.8 years, jobs are picking up again and everyone is now beginning to ask for pay increases, still none are forthcoming.
    via mekmid
  • I asked my friend manager what the story was with shares etc. he plainly said "I'm waiting but while I am, I am making sure I'm being looked after" that came as a bit of shock.
    via mekmid
  • Throughout the years the second manager, not my friend, was a d he to most staff, talking down at staff, disrespectful condescending tones, lots of micromanagement - just a pain to deal with, I was mostly immune from this based on boundaries I set.
    via mekmid
  • This manager was the one that priced the biggest job in the company that I was delivering $10M+.
    via mekmid
  • An employee sits inquisitively by his laptop as his manager writes on a whiteboard behind him.
    via Sebastian Herrmann

    An employee sits inquisitively by his laptop as his manager writes on a whiteboard behind him.

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

  • He decided not to do a clean project handover when we started the job and through the information he retained he kept micromanaging the job in patches and started forcing me and the crews to do things a certain way - with no logic.
    via mekmid
  • There were a few times where I pushed back and tried to communicate that there were more cost effective ways to do work, his response was "I'm telling you to do this, are you going to do it or refuse?" If I refused I'd be on grounds for a disciplinary based on our company policies.
    via mekmid
  • I silent quit and started looking for jobs, which I found in a couple months. When I told my friend who was one of two managers I was shocked about what he told me.
    via mekmid
  • Basically, he tried selling me on the opportunity of staying and how he just kept asking for more money when projects he oversaw did well, including my projects.
    via mekmid
  • Recently he got a mega rise that owner hoped would keep him in the company for several more years.
    via mekmid
  • I found out the other manager also got big increases in remuneration. I was shocked, here we were, the middle to lower levels of the company, grafting hard with less resources, with the fear of losing our jobs, based on the poor performance of the company based on the stories these two managers fed everyone and they were creaming it regardless of the companies bottom line performance.
    via mekmid
  • When the owner heard about me wanting to leave he offered me a massive 37% pay rise a profit share in the low single digits but with bonding timeframe.
    via mekmid
  • Apparently he always wanted to give me a rise but was lazy and that clients were all impressed with my work.
    via mekmid
  • An employee looks frustrated while sitting at his desk.
    via Sebastian Herrmann

    An employee looks frustrated while sitting at his desk.

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

  • I told him the staff on the ground needed to be paid better and have better performance based incentives rather than just hourly wages, to my surprise he secretly gave bonuses to a select one or two supervisors, that I had suspected, based on time saved - apparently the managers didn't even know about these bonuses!
    via mekmid
  • I felt disgusted, like I was being bought after 0 pay raises in 3.5 years and working in a stressful environment with 0 support.
    via mekmid
  • The structural issues I raised about disrespectful behaviour, micromanagement, brinkmanship all of it was ignored in that offer I resigned the next day.
    via mekmid
  • I have another offer already signed, with a better company, same pay, less hours with a clear and consistent company structure.
    via mekmid
  • Lessons learned: 1. Know how raises happen at the company you're at. Some you need to keep asking and show your value constantly.
    via mekmid
  • I mistakenly thought hardwork and good performance would guarantee pay raises 2. At work, people are out for themselves, so look out for your own interests don't expect friends to look out for you.
    via mekmid
  • TLDR: Management gave no pay raises or did any performance reviews for 3.5 years of good hard work, while they creamed it at the top.
    via mekmid
  • They panicked when I resigned and counter- offered 37% pay raise with profit sharing ($5-$10M profit in good
    via mekmid
  • I declined it
    via mekmid

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salary workplace-stories toxic-manager employee overworked-employees payment money
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