Employee rejects promotion that paid him 35% less than what he's making now: 'More responsibility, higher expectations as higher management, but significantly less pay overall.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Apr 11, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

Why would he want more responsibility for less pay?

It can be hard to know when you're underpaid. A lot of people claim to be underpaid, even when their salary is pretty standard for their industry and experience level. Most employees don't have access to their company's books, so they have no way of knowing whether they're making more than their coworkers or whether their bosses and managers are bringing home the big bucks while they get pennies. 

Sometimes you can tell you're underpaid because you're doing the jobs of multiple people. If you're working the equivalent of three different positions, and you're only getting paid for one of them, you're getting underpaid, no matter how your boss wants to swing it. If your workload doesn't reflect your title, there's a good chance you're getting underpaid.

It can be borderline impossible to get a raise when you've been working like a dog for years and have shown your boss that you're willing to put up with bad working conditions long-term. They might just get rid of you and replace you with someone else who is willing to tolerate low pay because they feel like they have nowhere else to go. 

The employee in this story has been doing managerial work for a while, but he hasn't been getting paid for it. Now that his company wants to promote him to manager, there's one huge catch: he'll make a lot less money as a manager than he does in his current position. Why on earth would he accept a demotion like that?

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  • Man in a gray suit talking on the phone while drinking a beverage by a large window
    via David Veksler

    Hardworking employee sitting at his desk, talking on the phone with a client.

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

  • I turned down a promotion because it would’ve paid me 35% less. Am I being difficult?

    I'll keep this short. I've been at my company for about 2 years as an individual contributor.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • When I joined, I was underpaid based on expectations that were set during the interview but didn't match reality.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • It took me around 4 months to fully realize that because a lot of things were unclear at the start.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Over time, I worked toward a manager- level role. I was given KPIs that actually changed twice, but I hit them in both cases.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • About 3 months before the promotion discussion, I made it very clear that I wouldn't accept the role unless the compensation hit a specific number.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • I didn't pull that number out of nowhere, I calculated it carefully and knew it was within a reasonable budget.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • When the offer came, it was almost 40% below what I had communicated. I declined the promotion and told management I'd stay in my current role, and explained why.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • A big part of my decision is that over the past year, I've already been doing a lot of "manager-level" work unofficially.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Things like improving processes, building new ones, and helping elevate the team's performance, all while still exceeding my own KPIs.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • The promotion would've increased my base salary by about 20%, but because of how the bonus/commission structure changes, my total compensation would actually drop by around 35%.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • So basically: more responsibility, higher expectations as higher management, but significantly less pay overall. I also formally told them that moving forward, I won't be taking on responsibilities outside my current scope so expectations are clear.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • I'm not trying to be difficult or force them to meet my number, I just want to be realistic about what makes sense.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • My manager asked me to reconsider and said she's worried that if I stay in my current role, I'll eventually leave.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Woman using macbook
    via Vadim Danilov

    Manager stresses over one of her best employees potentially leaving the company for better opportunities. 

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

  • To be fair, I think she's trying to help, but the compensation decision is coming from higher up.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • A group of colleagues having a business meeting in an office meeting room
    via Rodeo Project Management Software

    A group of higher-ups making decisions about the salaries of their underlings.

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

  • At this point, I'm wondering if I made the right call or if I'm being too rigid about it.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • No-Bumblebee-9896 You might ask about stock grants or restricted stock. Often this is how income starts to really grow for management.
    via u/No-Bumblebee-9896
  • Independent Hold3754 Original Poster's Reply Thats not really the issue, they just want a manager for a junior salary. The offer they came up with is just waaay to low, so much so that my base salary will increase to be on the higher end of a base salary of an individual contributor.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Thurak0 > The promotion would've increased my base salary by about 20%, but because of how the bonus/commission structure changes, my total compensation would actually drop by around 35%. Have you communicated this one clearly? Because a 20% rise probably sounds like a lot to them. And don't expect them to know that. If they had checked with HR how much money you got last year, they would not have offered you a much lower pay.
    via u/Thurak0
  • Independent_Hold3754 Original Poster's Reply In fact what ive been told unofficially is i quote "you made your point, but you over made it"
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Brad_from_Wisconsin KPIs are kind of like the mechanical rabbit at the dog track. They always have to be close enough to make people think of them as obtainable, yet far enough away to keep everybody going at full speed.
    via u/Brad_from_Wisconsin
  • Independent Hold3754 Original Poster's Reply I know the drill but in this scenario, these kpis are significantly out of touch.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Brad_from_Wisconsin How do they justify lower pay for a manager role? Are there commissions or performance incentives?
    via u/Brad_from_Wisconsin
  • Independent Hold3754 Original Poster's Reply There are but unreachable, historically im their best perfomer so im in a position to tell what is achievable and what is not, so while you do have an incentive if you reach X. Not reaching it makes that incentive irrelevant. To give you an idea KPIs are 85% higher than my previous target.
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Live_Free_or_Banana Going from a commission-based sales position to a salary-based management one is normally a drop in pay in any environment where the most successful sales reps are the ones getting selected for management.
    via u/Live_Free_or_Banana
  • Independent Hold3754 Original Poster's Reply Sales management includes commission too but this is not one of those 10% pay cuts that you will look at and say "ah its not bad"
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • Sterlingz How do you know you've been doing "manager level work"? The examples you provided are typical of a manager's work, but not exclusive. Remember, the perception is managers don't do f one becomes a manager. all, until
    via u/Sterlingz
  • Independent Hold3754 Original Poster's Reply I manage trainings of new reps - onboardings, leading presentations- creating processes- refining existing process - unofficially carrying others quota - went as far as redesigning the pip
    via u/Independent_Hold3754
  • No_Solid2349 You did, but you need to start checking the market, dont go crazy, but check CVs, check offers and be prepared.
    via u/No_Solid2349
  • Appropriate_Page_824 This is normal for many sales guy who get heavy commissions to refuse promotions and be a manager. Many seasoned sales guys have customer network and find no difficulty in meeting their individual targets. They will have customers who they can call up and ask them to help out by placing an order. Once they are managers, they lose their commissions and also become responsible for their teams targets.
    via u/Appropriate_Page_824
  • katyfail You probably don't have a pathway to growth at this company anymore. I'd say it's time to look outside the company for your next role.
    via u/katyfail
  • Interesting Log_4050 You should have taken it and jumped ship under a manager role instead of a serf one.
    via u/Interesting_Log_4050

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responsibility salary promotion employee manager job commission working rejection underpaid
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