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They didn't tell him that he was being replaced, but his job was posted online.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Jun 06, 2023
A man on Reddit’s famous “r/antiwork” forum is going through a debate in his mind after he feels like he’s been wronged by the company he’s currently employed at.
The “antiwork” subreddit is a place for everyone to go and vent their workplace struggles or frustrations, and this man came looking for some advice. After his friend texted him about his current position, he debated “ghosting” the company he worked at, but asked the people of Reddit what they thought.
He’s debating ‘ghosting’ his company after they posted his job on Indeed for $5 more.
“I am thinking about ghosting the company,” he writes, referring to the company he works for. “I have been working here [for] a year and a half. This job is part-time. At the beginning of the year, I begged for more hours to make ends meet financially and my boss said he couldn't do it. So, I am currently working two jobs.”
Recently, his friend texted him asking if he know that his job had been posted online — he works as the Administrative Assistant for his company and currently works at a pay rate of $15 an hour. “The listing is for $20.”
Photo: Reddit
He adds that “This is aggravating since I just spoke with my boss in January about $16 an hour and he said no.” Having to work two jobs just to make ends meet is not ideal — more hours would have boosted his paycheck to allow him a much better quality of life.
Just to clear up any confusion, he claims that the problem can’t be his performance. “My work includes webpage and graphic design,” he writes, “I have MANY good reviews and it's certainly not about job performance.”
He believes that he’s being replaced after looking into his boss’s emails.
“Since I have access to all email accounts and am in charge of the entire office, I logged in,” he explains. “My boss has over 30 applicants and has started the hiring process. He did not tell me he was hiring. I was not told I was being replaced. I work tomorrow.”
Why would they be hiring someone for his role if he weren’t being replaced? The only logical explanation would be to have that person work the hours that the part-timer isn’t, but then why not hire him full-time? It doesn’t quite make any sense.
He claims that it’s a small office of around five people, and believes that he should have been notified. Calling this an “awkward situation,” he’s unsure of what to do, and so he asked the people of “r/antiwork” what he should do.
Photo: Reddit
The top reply read, “Apply?” and many people chimed in that this was a great idea because if they didn’t receive the raise, they could make note of all of their interactions with the employer and make a case for unemployment.
Someone else wrote that the employer probably wouldn’t even pay the person they hired $20. “They’ll offer $20 and then bait and switch to get applicants and then tell them that $20 is the high side of the range and that new hires come in at $15,” they wrote, and many people echoed in agreement.
All in all, it seems as though he feels like he isn’t being treated fairly and isn’t happy with his job, so many people suggested he should just look for a new one. Everyone, however, was in agreement that his employers were being total jerks.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.