‘He got 7%, others got 13%’: Employee quits after getting lower raise than teammates, Reddit weighs in | Today’s news
Pay raises are often a sensitive topic at work. A Reddit post detailing how one employee allegedly reacted to being paid less than his colleagues has now sparked an online debate.
The discussion started on the DevelopersIndia subreddit, where a user identified as “WastedTalents1” shared concerns about a teammate whose job performance had reportedly dropped significantly after annual raises were announced.
“Most of us have 13%, he has 7%”
According to a Reddit user, salary discussions within the team quickly spread after the review cycle as colleagues began comparing their raises during face-to-face conversations.
“So I have this colleague who got about a 7% raise this year and most of the other people (including me) on the team got around 13% and that word spread very quickly among the team members,” the user wrote.
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The poster claimed that the colleague was already struggling with assignments prior to the assessment cycle and often needed extra time to learn new skills. They also claimed that the employee had previously been caught delaying assigned work.
“So now that they’ve reached the ‘F*fing around’ ‘Find Out’ stage, their efficiency has dropped, like they used to do 6 tasks a day, now they’re only doing 2 and they’re constantly ‘away’ on teams, like 6 out of 9 hours they’re gone,” the user wrote.
According to the poster, the situation began to affect the rest of the team.
“But the team still has to answer to clients and management, and I’ve had to pick up their slack since last week,” they added.
The user concluded by asking fellow Redditors for advice, saying that they didn’t want their colleague to lose his job, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to handle the extra workload.
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Reddit says: Let management drive
The post quickly gained traction, with many users arguing that the matter should be left to managers rather than colleagues.
“It’s none of your business. Your manager gets paid to manage work. If you’re overworked, talk to your manager instead of posting here as a savior hero,” one user commented.
Several others advised the poster not to take responsibility for a colleague’s performance issues.
“Don’t sacrifice your time and energy”
One user shared a personal experience with a troubled co-worker, saying that friendships in the workplace often don’t translate into long-term loyalty.
“Since you mentioned being in good company, ask yourself, would that person do the same for you if you switched places? written by the user.
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The commenter went on to describe helping a colleague who was performing poorly, only to find out later that the colleague had planned to quit and pursue higher education without informing them.
“You hardly have real friends in the workplace, don’t sacrifice your time and energy for someone if you don’t think they’re really worth it,” the user added.
Some suggested a softer approach
Not all recommended escalation.
“Just try to keep working on your stuff and ignore/gently suppress the extra workload. The person is going to screw up anyway. It’s not worth it to screw someone up or try to make it seem like it’s not working, sometimes it’s a weird dynamic of playing in a way that’s unexpected,” wrote another user.
Others felt that the poster should only intervene if the colleague’s behavior directly affected their own performance.
“If their productivity isn’t affecting your ability to deliver, I wouldn’t worry about it. Just bring it up and don’t invest any more time and effort into it unless you really care about them as a person. In that case, maybe talk. There might be a reasonable explanation behind it,” read one comment.
Office politics or professional boundaries?
Some users took a more pragmatic view, suggesting that the problem should be brought to the attention of management rather than being completely ignored.
“Listen man, it doesn’t matter if you get along with someone, this is corporate. No one is paying you extra to hold someone accountable. The only thing I would suggest is to direct your coworker’s behavior to your management, not too bluntly, but very subtly. Play some pranks and a little office politics,” another user commented.
