HR Dumbfounded When Employee Refuses To Train A New Employee For Free And Resists Firing

Being an employee has its ups and downs. Some advantages that may attract people include a steady, guaranteed income and comprehensive benefits. 

But on the flip side, one major disadvantage is getting embroiled in office politics, as this woman experienced. In a series of TikTok posts, she shared how the company she had long worked for passed her over for a promotion and instead gave it to a younger, newly hired employee. 

Worse, her bosses wanted her to train the individual with zero on-the-job experience. Scroll down for her full story. 

Getting embroiled in office politics is an occupational hazard for corporate employees

Image credits: theunobsolete

This woman would know, as she shared how her company passed her over for a promotion

Image credits: theunobsolete

Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / Freepik (not the actual photo)

She shared an update, stating how the company tried to turn the tables on her

Image credits: Mikhail Nilov / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The woman also revealed that while she wasn’t fired, her bosses began their passive-aggressive treatment of her

Image credits: theunobsolete

Image credits: Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels (not the actual photo)

She shared her third and final update, revealing that the company tried to deprive her of a proper severance package

Image credits: Vlada Karpovich / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The company caved after a tug-of-war of negotiations, while also losing the replacement employee

Image credits: Kampus Production / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The woman shared how undervalued she felt, and how she began moving forward

You can find her TikTok posts below

Image credits: theunobsolete

@theunobsolete watched 25-year-old get my promotion then ask me to train her. I said no. Not sorry. Not maybe. Just no. She shocked. Manager furious. HR email about team player. Don’t care. They passed me over for promotion I earned. Gave it to someone with zero experience. Expected me to teach her job they said I wasn’t good enough for. Train my replacement? Pay me. Want 25 years knowledge? Triple salary consulting rates. Want me to smile while you humiliate me? Wrong person. Not your free training program. Not making cheap hire look competent. Not handing over everything so you can pay her half. They said unprofessional. I said appropriately compensated or not sharing. They said not supporting team. I said team didn’t support me. Silence. Second you stop being useful they stop caring. Stop pretending you owe them anything.#promotions#over50#notateamplayer#genx#isaidno♬ original sound – The Unobsolete

@theunobsolete UPDATE: Refused to train replacement. What happened next I expected. Two days later meeting with manager and HR. My attitude. Not that they passed me over or wanted free labor. My attitude refusing exploitation. They said not collaborative poor leadership need team players. I said you passed me over want free training punish boundaries that’s control not collaboration. Silence. Not willing develop staff maybe not culture fit. I said right. Culture exploiting experience isn’t my fit. Ready for compensation talk? No? Back to my job. Didn’t fire me. Can’t. Lawsuit risk. Instead stopped including meetings gave projects away documented everything performance issues. Managed out playbook. I documented everything back. Every email meeting project. Knew exactly what they were doing. #promotions#isaidno#refused# #over45#corporatetiktok♬ original sound – The Unobsolete

@theunobsolete UPDATE PART 3: Refused train replacement. How it ended. Three weeks managed out documented retaliation. Manager and HR called me in. Don’t think right fit anymore. Best we part ways.#refusedtotrain#notateamplayer#isaidno#over50#corporatetiktok♬ original sound – The Unobsolete

Passing over someone tenured for a promotion is often a company’s way to cut costs

The woman, 58-year-old Jennifer Schroeder, spoke to Newsweek to share her candid thoughts about her experience, stating that she felt “too old, outdated, and obsolete” overnight. She was understandably upset and felt betrayed by the company she had spent years, perhaps even decades, working for. 

However, it may have been more of a business decision than a personal attack. As senior HR professional Jon Forbes tells Bored Panda, passing over someone tenured for a promotion could very well be a cost-cutting move. 

“A departmental head is told to save a certain dollar amount, or a percentage of their annual budget, through labor savings,” he explained. “In order to do the work of their department, they need to keep every headcount they can, and that means promoting someone into a role that simply costs less.”

Forbes went on to clarify that an employee’s qualifications only come into the equation when determining their ability to meet the role’s minimum requirements. He says it’s not necessarily a preference for a highly skilled employee. 

Companies may also prefer younger employees for their adaptability, creativity, and readiness to take on new challenges. 

“Sometimes, younger employees bring fresh ideas or a perspective that aligns with a company’s growth goals, even if they have fewer years on the job,” explains Colleen Barry, Head of Marketing at Ketch. 

“It’s rarely about undervaluing experience; it’s more about who can drive impact in the current strategic direction.”

Both Forbes and Barry stated that being passed over may leave the employee in distress, which may manifest as disengagement, lowered morale, and even a loss of trust among the remaining employees and within the organization. 

Focusing on career growth should be a priority for employees who were passed over

Getting passed over can be devastating for an employee’s self-confidence, and their priority should be their growth moving forward. Barry urges looking for opportunities to expand skills and increase visibility within the organization through lateral moves or special projects. 

“Keeping your attitude professional while actively growing your profile is the best long-term strategy,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Forbes advises asking for feedback on what is lacking that may have contributed to the company’s decision. He also emphasized that tenure doesn’t always translate to readiness for a higher role. 

“You are responsible for your career, not your employer, and definitely not your boss. If this were the only opportunity for career growth, then think about what you might want to do with that information,” he said. 

Schroeder asked for feedback and remained professional throughout her interactions with her managers and HR. However, they instead gaslighted her and even tried to deny her a proper severance package. 

She did the right thing by standing up for herself, which worked out well for her in the end.

People in the comments shared their reactions, similar experiences, and pieces of advice

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