It’s not unreasonable to expect loyalty.
Particularly at your place of work.
After dedicating years to the same company and proving your worth it’s understandable to expect that all your hard work and dedication will likely result in a promotion at some point.
Sadly, however, this isn’t always the case.
Something Redditor watashiwaikiru was sad to discover after being overlooked for a promotion they thought they had in the bag.
But after being criticized for how they handled this, the original poster (OP) took to the subReddit “Am I The A**Hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for not training the person that got the job I wanted?”
The OP shared how they began to take on more responsibilities than normal at work after an unfortunate change in situation for their boss.
“Been with ‘company’ for almost 3 years, as Assistant to the manager.”
“About 8 months ago my managers health took a slight turn, sucks, because they are a fantastic person, and they officially made me Assistant manager.”
“Since then I have taken on a lot of my managers responsibilities and have run the department on multiple occasions while they were away for various reasons.”
Upon the news that their manager was retiring, the OP assumed that a promotion was in their future, but was less than pleased to learn that they were wrong.
“A number of weeks ago my manger resigned and finished up a couple days later.”
“I put my hand up for the role, all discussion with upper management indicated that I would be next in line.”
“So for the next few weeks I carried on and ran the department as usual.”
“I should add, with no issues.”
“Last week, a new manager for the department was hired and they started a day later.”
“I’m not sure why I was overlooked and nothing has been told to me, but the new person really knows nothing specific to this department.’
“Managerial skills are still yet to be determined, but I spent the next day essentially teaching them what to do from the ground up.”
“This frustrated me and so I took annual leave all last week and my phone hasn’t stopped ringing, because the new manager really doesn’t know anything about our specific department, and they have no clue what to do day to day.”
“I haven’t been answering.”
“Sure they might be a good manager with past experience.”
“But if they were hired over me, then they should be able to do the job, right?”
“My friends are telling me I’m being petty, and that I should suck it up and help them.”
“But I really feel if they wanted someone that could do the work, they should have promoted me to the role.”
“My leave finishes soon and I’m conflicted on how I should proceeded.”
“I’ve been intentionally vague here because I do enjoy my job and have no intention of leaving, but who knows.”
“The leave was pre booked, but the did ask me to cancel it, which i declined.”
“I actually do have something on.”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA: Not the A**hole
- YTA: You’re the A**hole
- ESH: Everybody Sucks Here
- NAH: No A**holes Here
The Reddit community agreed the OP was not the a**hole for not answering their phone to train their new manager.
Just about everyone was in agreement with the OP that whoever they hired over them should be able to handle the job without the OP’s help, nor should the OP be training someone in a more senior position than them.
“NTA.”
“If you aren’t qualified to be hired in the role, you aren’t qualified to train the person in the role.”
“Their boss needs to train them.”
“Once you’re back in the office, tell them that they need to talk to their manager about getting trained.”-teresajs
“NTA.”
“You shouldn’t be training someone higher up in the company than you.”
“Their boss can train them.”
“Don’t answer the phone.”- murphy2345678
“Sorry, if I’m not qualified to be appointed in this job I’m obviously not qualified to train someone for it’.”
“NTA.”-PattersonsOlady
‘NTA.”
“I don’t think you’re being petty.”
“I do think you’re being disrespected though.”
“When you’ve literally done the manager’s job, with no issues, and no pay reflecting that, but somehow you’re expected to just carry on as if everything is okay?”
‘And furthermore, they take it a step further by giving the job to someone else and expect you, effectively a subordinate, to train them.”
“Godd*mn, management/ownership is trash everywhere lol.”
“F**k that place.”- Sushi_________Roll
“NTA, and you’re not being petty.”
“They hired someone without as much knowledge as you have, they can deal with the consequences.”- ClothesQueasy2828
“NTA.”
“This type of situation is so frequent in companies hiring out instead of promoting in.”
“I don’t think you’re petty for taking your leave, you have the right to be upset over this.”
“You are clearly qualified and experienced with the positions.”
“It sucked that you didn’t get it but I understand that you feel it’s a waste your time training someone else to take over a job that you’re perfectly capable of doing.”
“If this is how your company works, I think it’s best to look for some thing else.”
“I’m sorry OP sounds like you enjoy your work, but is it worth it being kept in the position that you are with the knowledge that it is possible to keep being overlooked for managing roles/promotions?”
“Is there some type of manager you can speak to about why you didn’t get the position?”
“Maybe it would beneficial to ask, that way it would help you determine whether to stay there or move on somewhere else.”- Chantalle22
“How, by prioritizing the company during your vacation?”
“You’re on leave, you don’t have to answer the phone.”
“It’s disrespectful that they’re even trying to get in touch with you.”
“Please continue to treat yourself well!”
“NTA.”-ginsengtea3
“NTA.”
“Start looking for a different company.”
“This is a slap in the face IMO.”-Bonecup
“NTA.”
“The one and only time I had to train my new manager, she felt threatened because I knew more than she did.”
“I should, I’d been in the department for over 7 years and that point and she was just taking it over as a new assignment.”
“She was so sweet to my face, told my every week how she couldn’t believe I was doing so much more work than everyone else, praised me for various tasks.”
“But she never once thanked me for working overtime for MONTHS to train her while also doing my own job.”
“I’m salary so, not paid OT either.”
“Gave me a crap rating at the end of the year, which meant no extra bonus, and told me I needed to learn how to manage my work better.”
“I called her boss, told him I was done and why, and got moved laterally to a new role.”
“Still feel ticked when I think about that though.”
“The point is, people shouldn’t have to train their supervisors.”
“Maybe explain what your job functions are, but not be available 24/7 to hold their hand because they have no idea how the department works.”-aztec1313
“NTA.”
“I worked for a place as a temporary employee for almost a year.”
“They expected me to train the people they hired as permanent employees while they would not hire me.”
“I told them to stuff it and walked out.”- Nocturne_Prime
“NTA.”
“I have always refused to train anyone above me.”
“This happened to at a cell phone store, and when the manager had issues, the also inexperienced district manager could deal with it.”- TotalImmortal82
“Oooph, you should not have been answering your phone during that time off.”-extrabigcomfycouch
“NTA.”
“Maybe its time while you are on vacation, to look for a new job.”
“I mean this job totally screwed you over, and now the new manager wants you to basically show him how to do his job.”
“While you are on vacation none the less.”-Xenafan1970
‘NTA.”
“I’ve seen a similar situation at my job.”
“The difference is that my new manager is trained in a few areas.”- Kitsumekat
“NTA.”
“As long as you do your job, you’re under no obligation to do anything more.”
“If the company truly valued you, they would have promoted you.”-Individual_Ad_9213
“NTA.”
“I wouldn’t have trained them at all tbh.”
“I also would find a new job because if they don’t respect me then why stay.”
“Alternatively you can stay not teach them anything and then if they offer you the job take the title and then find another job as a manager somewhere else but you have the title you need to get a better offer.”
“It really depends on your pettiness level.”-BriefHorror
It doesn’t look good for the company that one of their staff needs to train someone in a position senior to theirs.
It only further indicates they may have very well made a mistake in not promoting the OP.
Here’s hoping OP’s talents and dedication will one day get them the recognition they deserve.