Company forces employees to participate in ‘Financial Wellness’ workshop after refusing to give anyone a raise for over 3 years: ‘We'll help you make the most of your income"’

"We can't give you a raise, but here is Susan, who is going to teach you how to meal prep for the week so you can save a few extra dollars every week."

Working a 9-5 job in an ordinary company means you sometimes have to deal with annoying office life etiquette and mandatory extracurricular activities you didn't really sign up for when you signed your contract. Like taking 15 minutes out of your day every time someone has a birthday so you can sing to them in the kitchen while you're all huddled around a small birthday cake, or spending your precious evening at an office holiday party, participating in a "socializing" game someone from HR found online.

Even though it is not part of any job description, it is still a part of the job, and it's usually a lot easier to go along with it than attempt to fight it.

However, some of these office "extracurricular activities" tend to cross a certain line, moving from harmless to downright insulting, and the activity described in the story below is a perfect example of the latter.

This company has been claiming that it's experiencing financial struggles for years now, which is why upper management has been refusing to give any of the employees a raise for over three years. Even as the cost of living has gone up from one year to another, none of the people working for this company saw any change in their paychecks.

If that is not terrible enough, this week the employees all got an email inviting them to attend a wellness workshop called "Stretching Your Dollar in Tough Times", meant to help the employees find ways to budget their money better. Imagine! Working for a company for three years without a single raise, being forced to participate in a workshop, and having to listen to some lady telling you how you can save money in these tough times.

Talk about workplace audacity…

via akki

Speaker Addressing Audience in Conference Room.
^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}
My company sent out a "Financial Wellness Workshop" invite to help us "make the most of our income"

via SuitableAmbition997
via SuitableAmbition997
via SuitableAmbition997
via SuitableAmbition997
via SuitableAmbition997
via SuitableAmbition997
via SuitableAmbition997
via GreyWulfen
via GreyWulfen
via betwixtphencyclidine
via TheCrimsonSteel
via JJB**h
via Timewinder81
via crsh1976
via crsh1976
via Defiant-Rabbit-7599
via Mitch_Wallberg
via giganticrats
via kiwimuz
via sanjeri

Business people at a conference event.
^{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

Like what you see? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Also From FAIL Blog

22-year-old hard-working girlfriend refuses to quit her job without financial security, boyfriend pulls away after she asks for a safety net: ‘I just want to protect myself, not depend on anyone’

Trending Now

Update: Data engineer asked to lead important meeting, realizes they have no idea what they're doing: 'Up until now, the stakes have been low... That era has ended'

Employer denies $27 parking reimbursement, employee makes them pay henceforth with 1st class train rides, costing 3 times more 'as per travel expense policy'

30-year-old quits her job of 6 years after new coworker, Ben, keeps stealing her work and credit, and faces zero consequences despite multiple complaints: ‘I addressed it with my manager, director, and HR. After a year I simply couldn’t take it anymore’

22 Cooking Memes for Optimistic Home Chef Learning to Trust the Process (April 15th, 2026)

Landlord charges every tenant a flat $500 move-out cleaning fee for years, hits 3 families at once, they group, sue together, and win every cent back plus legal fees: ‘We stood our ground. We filed a collective action, and yesterday we won’