A man shared his promotion on LinkedIn, but it created complications when a co-worker who thought he’d been passed over unfairly sent “a slew of unhinged texts” to the promoted man.
The story comes from therapist and author Amber Wardell (@sensible_amber). The TikTok, which has received more than 321,000 views since going up Saturday, details an encounter she says happened to her husband, whose announcement about moving up the corporate ladder triggered the jealous co-worker.
“Yesterday, my husband announced his promotion on LinkedIn,” she begins. “And within a few hours, he got a slew of unhinged texts from one of his co-workers. This guy started going on and on about how he is more competent, more capable, smarter than my husband. It was utterly unfair that my husband got this promotion, and he didn’t.”
But then, a twist: “And when he asked my husband why he got the promotion, my husband said, ‘Hey, didn’t you make that huge mistake with one of our clients a few weeks ago, and we lost the deal? And not only was I not the one who lost that deal, but I also was the one who stuck up for you and tried to make sure that you didn’t get in any more trouble than you had to be.'”
“And to this,” she reveals, “this guy called my husband a d*ck. My d*ck husband, who tried to help this guy not get in trouble.”
Then, she observes, “Let this be a reminder that somewhere out there, the most dysregulated person you know is telling themselves and everyone else that you are the problem.”
“A tree is known by its fruit,” she declares. “My husband is known for who he is and what he’s like. And that guy is known for what he is and what he’s like.”
@sensible_amber Let those dysregulated people continue their path to their own idea of happiness and peace. You pursue yours, and wish them well. The path they’re on is going to be hard enough. #selflove #selfcare #emotionregulation #dysregulation #dysregulated #toxic #therapy #healing #healingjourney #letthem #pursuitofhappiness #protectyourpeace ♬ original sound – Amber Wardell
On the Crucial Learning site, author David Maxfield gave advice about “What To Do When You Think a Coworker Resents Your Promotion.” He offered a few different steps, including to “examine your story” in order “to help you see the bigger picture and to examine the facts from all perspectives” and to” increase your empathy and understanding” for the resentful co-worker. Another step he offers is to try to find a “mutual purpose” that helps both you and your co-worker reach a collectively-held goal and to meet with the person.
A Forbes article on the topic predicted, “Your coworkers’ negative emotions will pass. Within a few months most of them will have forgotten that your promotion made them upset. The more you ignore the comments and focus on your own path, the faster that settling-down of the waves will happen!”
Wardell, in a portion of the TikTok video, talked about how her husband checked in with her and some of his close friends to affirm that it was the co-worker’s behavior, not his, that was unusual.
Commenters were amazed by what they saw in the TikTok video.
“Ok, but I need that part about the most dysregulated person you know to be a sound,” one offered.
Another observed, “Agreed and even despite that dude’s mistake the fact that he complained and called out his promotion is an example of why he didn’t get promoted.”
Someone else shared, “An old coworker (who’d been promoted 6 months prior) told me she cried the whole weekend because I’d gotten promoted.”
Another contributed, “I got promoted yesterday and have only told a couple close friends. People are crazy.”
One saw an opportunity for HR to step in, noting, “Those texts should be shared with his HR to protect himself.”
The creator—whom the Daily Dot has reached out to via email—noted that her husband had contacted HR, but they weren’t sure what would come of it.
One hazarded a guess, saying, “By the sounds of it, the business will be thrilled to have a(nother) reason to let this dude go.”
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