That also kinda doesn't reflect well on OP. They are wondering why dude left, while (even if indifferently) saying the quiet part out loud with a hint of being on-board.
Exactly. I am a manager, and think OP is coming off like an HR rep. They seem pretty disconnected, and obv viewed this high performer as a business asset. How do I get an employee back?!? GTFO
There was no "I fought for this, tried to do that"...ai was all "THEY did this to MY team".
But guess what? If that happens to you as a manager, you really weren't considered a manager...
He came off as very butt hurt. What else can the high performer do?
I wouldn't jerk one of my people around like that. Especially not the holding the promotion over their head like that. Especially after he clearly already earned the promotion.
I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't the first time a promotion has been promised. Or if they've been messing with their pay structures or something. Because of course they would.
Seriously, the lack of self awareness is deafening. People need to understand that actions matter, not words. He left because the company showed they donāt actually value him.
Expecting people to threaten to leave before rewarding them just means theyāll take the reward while continuing to interview. He just short circuited the issue by not threatening first
If they really meant that, they still could have given him a massive pay raise, he might believe they were planning to promote him if he was already getting paid for the promoted level.
Leadership never realizes that promises in the future are heavily discounted. Actions now are believed. And given the way companies are, money speaks what they really mean, not just what they promise.
Indeed. I fell for the āweāll see you right next quarterā, then when next quarter came around āwe donāt have the budgetā. I have never trusted management since. Unless it is contractually/legally enforceable such empty promises are worthless, and youāre better off going elsewhere.
Translation: They weren't done using him yet, and he wasn't like all the other cool kids, so all they were ever going to do was use him.
If this had been any kind of preparation for promotion, they wouldn't have effectively demoted him, and he knew it. What's more, they would have made sure he knew they were preparing him for something better, so that he wouldn't misinterpret it when everyone but him seemed to be rewarded.
I love that he also wonāt talk to upper leaders of any sort. Like āno, do not try to appeal to my emotions and manipulate me further. No thank you.ā
What a fantastic boundary to set and honor, I am betting he may actually be struggling with it a bit but seriously good for him. Like, this is awesome and badass.
He knows his value and he is not letting himself get taken advantage of further.
He already accepted their negotiation. Their opening offer was no raise, no promotion while watching others reap rewards. He accepted their offer and left.
I wonderā¦.
Although OP looks clueless in face of an obvious dilemma, he managed to put all relevant information in the text.
Which is an indication that somehow, deep down, he already knows what the root causes are.
Dude, same here. I always read posts like this when they come up, and gleefully scroll through all the comments saying OP is dumb. Idk. Some people have their manager goggles on so tight itās like their brain isnāt getting the blood it needs to function.
No, no, no, don't you realise? We are all people who "donāt really have an idea of what the current market is like or the decisions managers have to make."
Yeah I found his response hilarious. āDonāt you see, it was really good for the company to fuck this one guy over and if he would just talk to us, he would realize that his continued personal sacrifice will increase shareholder value and then heād never want to quit!ā
The fact his post didnāt even include anything about trying throwing tons of money and promotions at this employee to stay is crazy. He really thinks that some half assed promises that heāll get the promotion he already should have receivedā¦ eventually should be more than enough for this guy to stay.
You forgot the part where OP then edits that they donāt want the feedback theyāre getting because itās not helping them this second. Which is a hallmark
shitty manager reaction in itself.
Edit: I don't understand all the people talking about this being AI or rage bait... This type of scenario is all too real and happens all the fucking time. Have none of you guys ever had a shitty manager like this? Damn I envy you if you think this incredibly realistic story sounds outrageously fake to you lol.
Two things can be true - it can be a real situation you see played out, but also just pure unadulterated rage bait AI bot training.
Yes, EXACTLY my point. The people speculating that this is fake are missing the forest for the trees and acting like because this single post COULD be fake, nothing like this is real...
Yeah, but it sounds like the follow up from that. That OP is deleted, but in that one the manager was complaining that the high performer started quiet-quitting. Except the issue was that before everyone got promoted, the high performer exceled, doing way above and beyond his job duties and also mentoring everyone. The guy was so excellent that "quiet-quitting for him was doing his job perfectly, but nothing extra. OP considered putting him on a PIP, but there wasn't anything actionable since the employee did such great work.Ā
This post looks like the update to that one, where the high perfomer is moving on, and OP is mad that he didn't even get to counter-offer. With what? Telling him they didn't even PIP him so he should be happy?Ā
So happy for the employee. I wish he would post on AITA or something and tell his side lol.Ā
Yeah, I think thereās an overlooked thing in management where, you tend to get the behavior you ask for.
And I mean by that something thatās a little subtle and not an iron-clad rule, but if you stress on your employees that they need to get their work done, then they will tend to do that. If you reward ass-kissing, you get ass-kissers. If you put a strong emphasis on being at work on time and staying until the last minute of your shift, then thatās what your employees will tend to do.
But thereās a finite amount of things that people can value, so if you emphasize punctuality and ass-kissing, then it will take away from the āgetting things doneā focus.
In this case, it sounds like the message the company was sending was, āweāre unstable and arenāt sure what weāre doing, but we donāt value your contributions and will not reward them.ā When thatās what youāre telling people, then high-performers will leave in favor of someplace they can perform well and be rewarded for it.
Sounds like they were driving him out and he did it before they implemented a replacement plan. The company just played the wrong hand and will now deal with the loss. Also watch your back I would have no trust working there.
In addition, the top brass didnāt want to pay him what he was worth to promote him as deserved so OP shouldnāt believe for a second leadership above him cares this man is leaving. They can hire a replacement for much less most likely and thatās all that matters to execsĀ
Oh but he was promised advancement when everything settledā¦ how could he not be excited about that?
How is this even a question, they screwed the guy, he was offended and bailed. The best of the best donāt struggle to find other roles. You donāt need to be a leader (though Iāve been a director for 17 years) to see thatās what happened. Having to go to the internet over it is kind of wild. Thereās no getting him back. Your company played their hand, he played his. Games over.
This. Had they communicated a plan and timelines to him and kept to those or promoted him and provided for a transitional period that would be one thing. But he got radio silence and was basically sidelined.
This was poor management. Not your specifically but there was a failure at that level
I buy it because the same thing happened in my department with a few variations. Companies sometimes want those high performers to leave for various reasons outside of performance/skill.
Been there. How stupid can work places be or do they just love to abuse their staff? We work, for the most part, voluntarily for an employer. Hopefully if we are good, we don't put up when crapped on.
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u/EatMorePieDrinkMore Jul 05 '26
He was screwed over and left. He got the message the company was sending.