Every employee works hard, hoping that their effort will be valuable to the company and that eventually it might even lead to a promotion or pay raise. Unfortunately, favoritism in organizations is a problem that often comes into play and can be tough to combat.
This is what a woman faced for years when the company’s CEO kept passing her over for a promotion, only to keep rewarding his “golden boy.” Things took a turn for the worse when the entitled man asked her to host him and his family for a week-long work trip.
More info: Reddit
The unseen power imbalance between people in the workplace might make it tough for folks to say no or assert their boundaries
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The poster explained that the CEO of the place she worked at always favored a man named Bob and rewarded him with promotions multiple times
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Even though the poster had been working at the company for a while, she had never been promoted, while Bob had reached the highest level he could be at
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One day, the woman got a text from Bob asking her to house him, his wife, toddler, and their dog during his week-long work trip
Image credits: Cautious-Soil5557
The woman was shocked by Bob’s entitlement and couldn’t believe he’d ask her instead of just making the company cover his accommodation
The poster explained that even though she had been at the same company for many years, her boss still hadn’t given her a promotion. On the other hand, he had helped another employee named Bob move up in the organization because he had a child and his wife was going to be a stay-at-home mom.
It definitely seems like the CEO was showing favoritism to Bob, and studies do show that female employees are less likely to be promoted than their male colleagues. The studies also found that even though some women received higher performance ratings than the men at work, they were 14% less likely to get a pay raise.
That’s exactly why the woman was frustrated, especially since she had been “silently demoted” for having a baby while Bob kept getting promoted. Things took a turn when the CEO gave him one of the highest positions he could reach, which essentially made Bob the poster’s boss.
It’s definitely difficult to see other colleagues get promoted when you know that you’re working extremely hard, and this might signal that an employee is facing “ghost growth.” According to research by Kickresume, when employees are given extra responsibility but never receive a raise, it could mean that their managers might be intentionally keeping them in the same position.
Image credits: rudoelena / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman realized that she was being overlooked at work, but what she didn’t expect to happen was having to deal with the demands of the newly promoted Bob. He texted her out of the blue one day, asking if she could accommodate him, his wife, their toddler, and their dog for an entire week.
The poster was shocked by his request, especially because he could have easily asked the company to cover the cost of his accommodation. Instead, “golden boy” Bob expected her to cater to him and his family’s needs for a full week, and didn’t even think it was a weird thing to ask a coworker.
The OP also probably wouldn’t be able to tell the HR or CEO about Bob’s request since he was always shown such favoritism at work. This is exactly why experts state that when certain individuals are treated with partiality in the office, it can make people feel demotivated and discontent, which often leads to high turnover.
It definitely seems like that’s what the woman wanted to do since she told netizens that she had begun looking for another job. It’s possible that after years of trying her best without a single pay raise, and also being taken for granted, she was looking for better opportunities.
Have you ever dealt with an entitled coworker like this or been in a toxic workplace? Don’t feel shy, do share your stories with us.
People were shocked by the audacity of Bob’s request, and they urged the poster to either leave her job or speak up about it
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