‘Got 7%, others got 13%’: Employee stops working after getting lower hike than teammates, Reddit weighs in

Salary hikes are often a sensitive topic at work. A Reddit post describing how one employee allegedly reacted to receiving a lower raise than his peers has now sparked a debate online.

The discussion began on the DevelopersIndia subreddit, where a user identified as “WastedTalents1” shared concerns about a teammate whose work output allegedly dropped significantly after annual hike figures were announced.

‘Most Of Us Got 13%, He Got 7%’

According to the Reddit user, salary discussions spread quickly within the team after the appraisal cycle, as colleagues began comparing their hikes during one-on-one conversations.

“So I have this colleague who got like 7% hike this year and most other folks (me included) from the team got around 13% and this information spread pretty quickly among the team members,” the user wrote.

The poster claimed the colleague had already struggled with tasks before the appraisal cycle and often needed extra time to learn new skills. They also alleged that the employee had previously been caught delaying assigned work.

“So now that they reached the ‘Find out’ stage of ‘f*ing around’, their efficiency has cratered, like if they used to do 6 tasks in a day, now they just do 2, and are constantly with ‘away’ status on teams like 6hrs out of 9hrs they are away,” the user wrote.

The situation, according to the poster, has begun affecting the rest of the team.

“But the team still has to be answerable to clients and the leadership and I have had to pick up their slack since last week,” they added.

The user concluded by asking fellow Redditors for advice, saying they did not want their colleague to lose their job but were finding it increasingly difficult to handle the additional workload.

Reddit Says: Let Management Manage

The post quickly gained traction, with many users arguing that the matter should be left to managers rather than fellow employees.

“It’s none of your business. Your manager is getting paid to manage the work. If you are getting overloaded, just talk to your manager rather than posting here like a saviour hero,” one user commented.

Several others advised the poster against taking responsibility for a colleague’s performance issues.

‘Don’t Sacrifice Your Time And Energy’

One user shared a personal experience involving a struggling co-worker, saying workplace friendships often do not translate into long-term loyalty.

“Since you mentioned being in good terms, ask yourself would that person do the same for you if they you exchanged places?” the user wrote.

The commenter went on to describe helping a colleague who was underperforming, only to later discover that the colleague had planned to resign and pursue higher studies without informing them.

“In workplace, you hardly have real friends, don’t sacrifice your time and energy for someone unless you think they are really worth it,” the user added.

Some Suggested A Softer Approach

Not everyone recommended escalation.

“Just try to keep working on your stuff and ignoring/gently pushing back on the extra workload. The person will eventually get pip’ed anyway. Not worth it to snitch on someone or try to make it obvious about them not working, sometimes weird dynamics playout in ways that’s unexpected,” another user wrote.

Others felt the poster should only step in if the colleague’s behaviour was directly affecting their own performance.

“Unless their productivity is affecting your ability to deliver, I wouldn’t worry about it. Just call it out and don’t invest any more time and effort into it unless you’re genuinely concerned about them as a person. In that case, maybe have a chat. There may be a reasonable explanation behind this,” one comment read.

Office Politics Or Professional Boundaries?

Some users took a more pragmatic view, suggesting that the issue should be subtly highlighted to management rather than being ignored altogether.

“Listen man, it doesn’t matter if you are on good terms with anyone, this is corporate. No one is paying you extra to shoulder anyone’s responsibility. The only thing I would recommend is that you point your colleague’s behaviour to your management, but not in a very blunt way but in a very subtle way. Play some mind games and a little bit of office politics,” another user commented.