A user on TikTok has sparked debate after claiming she was asked to train her own replacement. According to the TikToker, the replacement was set to make $4 more per hour with no experience.
In a video with over 64,000 views, TikTok user Veronique (@queen_of_chaosapparently) wrote, “when your boss interviews someone to replace you and offers to pay them FOUR DOLLARS more an hour and they have no experience.. and he expects you to train them, nah imma head out.”
@queen_of_chaosapparently so you think I’m stoooppid LOL #foryou #fyp #foryyouppages #toxicworkenvironmentss #toxicworkchronicles #workplacemisogynyy #signedafedupemoyee #nahhimmaheadout #soyouthinkimstupid? ♬ Them Changes (Sped Up) – Thundercat
In the comments section, Veronique says she left this role and will be starting a new one soon.
At first, commenters chimed in to share their own similar stories.
“I got transferred to a bigger location to manage more people with no raise,” recalled one user. “They hired someone to take my old spot and offered then 3 more $ then me.”
“This happened to me 4 years ago, was moving out of state so gave them 2 months notice. They hired my replacement $3 more,” claimed another. “Hell no I ain’t training her.”
“I had to train my old boss to be my boss,” alleged a third.
Others shared ways Veronique could get back at her workplace.
“Train them nothing and get paid as long as possible while you’re applying to other places then leave when you’re set at the new place,” suggested one user.
“Train them wrong,” advised a second.
Further users stressed the importance of shopping around the job market to ensure one is being adequately compensated.
There is data to back up the value in doing this. A recent report from compensation data provider LaborIQ that surveyed 20,000 different job titles “found that salaries for new hires are, on average, 7% higher than what current employees earn in similar positions,” with that difference increasing substantially for “in-demand jobs in tech and finance.”
In a follow-up video, Veronique explained how she felt upon learning that the new hire was going to be earning more than her.
“I should not have to resign from my position in order for you to give me [a] liveable wage and benefits that you could have been offering me all along,” she details. “That just reinforced how much I felt undervalued.”
Overall, TikTokers supported Veronique. One user wrote after learning of Veronique’s departure and refusal to train the new hire, “Wow!!!!!!! I would do the same thing!”
Update 6:03am CT, Nov. 3: In a Facebook DM exchange with Daily Dot, Veronique says she did not confront her employer about the difference in pay.
“I had put In my resignation due to the work environment being very toxic, so no, I didn’t confront my employer because it wouldn’t have made a difference for me,” she wrote. “I just happened to over hear that the person I was supposed to be training as my replacement was offer 4 dollars more an hour and knew that I was expected to train her.”
“It’s very sad how common this seems to be. I always am surprised anytime my videos get lots of views and this one was no different,” she added of the video’s virality. “I think this is so relatable because it’s happening to people everyday. Not only is it common, but it’s unfair. Companies are paying new hires more to start than their tenured employees. In a lot of companies workplace morale would drastically improve if companies invested in their already employed workforce instead of making them feel scorned by offering higher pay to their new hires.”
