20-year-old gets promoted to retail manager, has to reapply when older coworker complains: 'She was livid'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Jul 20, 2026 9:15 AM EDT

Should seniority at work depend on age?

In a lot of workplaces, those who are higher up the career ladder than their coworkers are often at least a little older than them. Logically speaking, they have had more time to gain the relevant experience and hopefully enough maturity to take on the added responsibility of being in a management role or similar.

That being said, things do not always work that way everywhere. There are jobs where the right mindset and a willingness to learn can get you more seniority, no matter what your date of birth is. In some ways, this is a blessing for those who are hard-working, ambitious, and ready to build on their career at a younger age, but not everybody sees it the same way. There is a chance that certain coworkers will resent somebody younger than them having more professional success than they do, and they may not be happy to deal with such a situation. Achieving more seniority at work is full of different challenges, and doing well as one of the younger people in the company, this is one of them. It can be a valuable lesson in how to manage those that you work with.

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  • Cheezburger Image 10649035264
    via SumUp

    A close-up of a male customer's arm using a card machine to make a payment

  • A 20-year-old was happy to start training for her job, where she was hired as a manager. She had been in this role for several months, and she did not believe that there were going to be any issues with that.

    However, she had a colleague working in the same department who had worked with the company for multiple decades. Although she had turned down offers of a management role several times in the past, she was not happy with this new, younger manager. 

    The solution that upper management decided on was that the younger woman had to reapply for her job to give her older coworker a chance to interview as well. She didn't think this was the right solution.

  • My job wants me to reapply for my current position

    Hello, I am a 20f working in retail. I am a manager in training currently and have been for the past four months. I was hired to be a manager and that is the role that I agreed to when I signed a contract.
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • The person working in my department previously has been working there for a very very very long time. Like 30+ years. She has been offered the position of manager around 3 times in the past 6 years, and has turned it down everytime.
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • She is very sweet, but was livid when I was hired as she felt the rug had been pulled from underneath her. She claims she wanted the position and was upset they hired me instead of her. I personally call bs but whatever. We make a good team and she's much older than me so i figured i would just try to work with her as a partnership as opposed to trying to lead her.
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • Well apparently she went to management behind my back and essentially bitched them out about not giving her the position she had previously denied three separate times. Now upper management is making us both resubmit our resumes and re interview for my job. That i currently have.
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • She has suddenly become way more hands on, suddenly cares about merchandising guidelines and rules. She's become way more proactive about things.
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • I haven't even bothered to resubmit my resumes as not only do I find it insulting to make me reinterview for a position I'm currently working, but she has years of experience on me. She has an established clientele base and sales. I stand no chance.
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • So now I'm faced with quitting, trying to fight this, or receiving a pay cut so she can become manager. I am so livid but I can't deny that she's capable and deserves it. Am I overreacting?
    via Ok-Cantaloupe3493
  • A young female retail worker letting a customer make a payment by card
    via SumUp

    A young female retail worker letting a customer make a payment by card

  • mangoawaynow APPLY. If you don't apply she gets it. Start applying to other jobs too because if she does get it you should jump ship because they are literally catering to what she wants anyways.
    via mangoawaynow
  • joshua_addison_music They're putting on a front for her. Reapply and it'll be yours. They're afraid of an age discrimination claim.
    via joshua_addison_music
  • SgtSplacker If work does anything even remotely like this to me I just start applying. You have time on your side. Stay professional, smile and keep looking for an upgrade. If you feel really slighted I'd give them just a weeks notice.
    via SgtSplacker
  • TakeltSleazier I got news for you...if after four months your job title still has in training, they don't like you very much. Don't let her walk all over you but also start sending out resumes
    via TakeItSleazier
  • Happy_Hippo48 If you have to reapply for your job, it's unlikely you will get to keep it. Time to start looking for a new job.
    via Happy_Hippo48
  • Anxious-Sundae4210 Yeah I'd apply to this one and other ones. Get this position and by then you'll have found a better job. Once they give you the job put in your two weeks notice and tell them that you can't work for a place that treats it's employees like that.
    via Anxious-Sundae4210
  • Upbeat-Fondant9185 Welcome to workplace politics. You better get your head in the game because right now your response is just handing her the win. This smells a bit off though. Four months and you're still training? It took that long for her to raise a fuss? It sounds like there's more going on here.
    via Upbeat-Fondant9185
  • SnooMacaroons5473 Apply. Be mature about it. It sounds like they are just appeasing her. Remind them of all the reasons they hired a young decisive person with leadership abilities
    via SnooMacaroons5473

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