Manager corners employee into accepting a 3% raise by inviting senior director into their meeting without disclosing it to employee: ‘I was caught off guard’

There is only so much you can do when the boss's boss is looking you straight in the eyes and tells you 'no'.

It's currently March, which means employees all around the world are deep into planning how 2026 is going to look and what their expectations are for the end of the year. For many people, their main professional goal is to get a raise or a promotion, something to indicate that they are moving ahead in their careers and are being appreciated by their peers. Which is why, since 2026 began, many employees have asked their bosses for a 1:1 to discuss their future in the company, and ask for the raise they are after.

Some employees were denied, others were lucky enough to get a yes, and one particular employee was coerced into accepting a deal by none other than the senior director. Why was the senior director involved in the conversation about this employee's raise? Scroll down to find out…

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  • 01
    Three businessmen having a meeting.
    via BartekSzewczyk

    Three businessmen having a meeting.

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

  • 02

    My manager invited my DIRECTOR to my 1:1 to deliver a 3% raise and didn’t tell me

    So I asked for a raise and my manager scheduled a 1:1 to discuss comp. Cool.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 03
    Except she also invited my director and didn't tell me. I didn't check the attendees (my fault I guess) but she wasn't in ANYONE else's meeting so this wasn't standard practice.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 04
    I walk in expecting a normal conversation and my director I have never who spoken to before in my life — is just... there.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 05
    And then my manager delivers a 3% raise. Which I expected to be low but I had a legitimate question - why wasn't I brought to the salary band floor FIRST before the 3%?
    via thekindspitfire
  • 06
    Because now I'll just fall below floor again next year. My director jumps in with "we don't change the ranges every year" which is just... not true?
    via thekindspitfire
  • 07
    I got a little upset (shocking, I know) and asked for a clear promotion timeline since June 2026 will hit my 1 year mark since my last promotion.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 08
    My manager goes "didn't you just get promoted in June 2025?" Like yes. That's why June 2026 makes sense??
    via thekindspitfire

  • The problem was not that the director was there; it was that the employee had no idea what they were walking into and had no chance to prepare for the director's claims and accusations. 

    Employees prepare for these raise meetings for months in advance, and here was this employee, shoved into one without knowing what to expect.

  • 09
    She then went into some speech about how she's working on making promotions progression based instead of us having to bid for them.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 10
    Cool. It's been 2.5 years. Still waiting. The whole meeting was just her having a non-answer for everything.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 11
    Two men in suits shaking hands.
    via seb_ra

    Two men in suits shaking hands.

  • 12
    But the thing that's actually killing me is that this was my FIRST interaction with my director ever.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 13
    I was caught off guard and emotional and now that's her entire impression of me. All because my manager couldn't send a 30 second heads up message before the meeting.
    via thekindspitfire

  • Whether or not this employee got the promotion they were after feels irrelevant by this point. They simply feel cheated by their manager, which is never a good thing to experience in the workplace. They wanted to have an honest conversation with their manager about their future, and instead, they found themselves pleading their case to the director, without any preparation or a heads-up.

     

  • 14
    I've never felt so set up in my life. Editing to add that I asked for a raise because my compensation is below the stated salary range for my role.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 15
    Promotions expected annually because it's a bridge program.
    via thekindspitfire

  • How can this employee ever feel comfortable asking their manager for anything else in the future? Not only did they not receive the raise they wanted, but they left the 1:1 feeling humiliated and exposed.

    We wouldn't even blame them if the first thing they did when they left this meeting was brush up on their resume…

  • 16
    andersonimes It sort of sounds like you think annual promotions are reasonable and typical but your Director does not. Any idea why the two of you don't agree on this point?
    via andersonimes
  • 17
    thekindspitfire Original Poster's Reply Well, her boss is the one that created this bridge program and she has apparently done nothing with it. Her boss was recently made redundant, so now her answer to absolutely everything is "I don't know, we're all in limbo!"
    via thekindspitfire
  • 18
    sarcasmismygame That's because you were set up. Maybe dust off the resume and see what else is out there? It's really true now that you have to job hop to get promoted. And then companies wonder why all of their best people leave smh.
    via sarcasmismygame
  • 19
    thekindspitfire Original Poster's Reply Already have it updated!
    via thekindspitfire
  • 20
    SolarAU My friend, loyalty is worth diddly in this day and age. Why get yourself worked up about silly office politics and arguing over pittance raises that literally only bring you up to the minimum? When you could jump ship and get everything you want? (Yes I know maybe this isn't how it goes in your specific industry) I had a phone call literally yesterday, and my soon to be new boss offered me 30% above my current salary if I'm willing to make a move over. I love my current job but man know
    via SolarAU
  • 21
    thekindspitfire Original Poster's Reply Yeah...I've come to the realization that if I ever want to make decent money, I'm just going to have to go somewhere else.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 22
    bequietanddrive000 What's wrong with your director being there?
    via bequietanddrive000
  • 23
    thekindspitfire Original Poster's Reply I've never met my director and the first time she was there, it was when I was being delivered bad news. No one else on my team had the director present. It was because I asked for a raise because my current compensation is below the stated salary range.
    via thekindspitfire
  • 24
    artlabman Im confused what was the bad news? You did get an increase. Usually 3% is what most people get. Are you a high performer? Did you go above and beyond or just do your own work? What's there to get emotional about?
    via artlabman
  • 25
    thekindspitfire Original Poster's Reply Prior to the 3%, my compensation was below the floor of the stated salary range. So the 3% literally just brought me to the floor and I will fall below the floor again next year unless I get a promotion, which is unlikely. So I'm consistently being paid below the stated salary range.
    via thekindspitfire

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