Internet Praises Single Mom Who Made 'Exploitative' Boss 'Lose His Mind'

From ignoring employees to cutting bonuses in half, Reddit's Antiwork subreddit catalogs some of the worst boss stories online. However, the latest tale to grace the forum featured a happy ending—and a large pay rise—for one underappreciated employee.

In a post shared on Tuesday, user nannerooni wrote how her mom managed to get a new job that doubled her salary, much to her ex-boss's chagrin. The story has received more than 80,000 upvotes and 2,500 comments from Reddit users applauding the woman, along with drags for the boss who "exploited" her.

The Redditor explained that her mom had worked for a small construction business for 10 years, but never received a raise. Despite her mom's obvious value to the company, her boss refused to discuss her salary, even though "he's personally filthy rich and she keeps the company afloat."

She wrote: "She just applied to a larger construction company and with her amazing experience, even though she lacked the educational prerequisites, she blew through all 3 interviews and already has a job offer within a couple weeks of beginning her search.

"The new company offered her much more than she even asked for: twice her current salary. 50k to 100k in two weeks. Including great benefits."

The new company could see nannerooni's mom's obvious talent, offering her a higher salary and "great benefits." Unsurprisingly, her current employer was not impressed when she told him.

Nannerooni continued: "She broke the news to her old boss and he started acting so desperate, panicked, and crazy that it emotionally disturbed her.

"He tried to make her a bunch of offers and promises she knew he wouldn't keep.

"He offered to pay her more than the new company offered her. He point blank told her 'I haven't been paying you the value you are worth to me.'"

Fortunately, the mom didn't back down. Concluding their post, nannerooni said: "What a f***** slap in the face. I'm so glad she's leaving and said no to old boy's offer.

"After all these years of loyalty and struggling financially as a single mom right in front of him he admits he was doing it on purpose.

"Small businesses don't automatically equal better businesses, folks."

Users congratulated the mom on her new role, with votedog commenting: "So happy for your family."

MartinB75 said: "I hope she's over the moon about her decision."

Albaspotting wrote: "Good for her for knowing her worth and taking a chance out there."

According to research by Jenzabar, 47 percent of adults in the US feel they are underemployed or underpaid. 37 percent dream of finding a new job or breaking into a new field, with respondents citing a lack of affordable education and training opportunities as a significant barrier. It's not surprising then, that 80 percent of those surveyed believed that colleges and universities are too expensive, with 57 percent willing to pursue further education if it became cheaper and more accessible.

In the comments, nannerooni shared more details about her mom's former employer.

She added: "He's a bad person and hoards money and gets even richer by always nitpicking every single thing he buys and demanding refunds. Even down to his Starbucks coffee order.

"He creates a really hostile work environment by cursing and yelling constantly.

"My mom said she was so surprised when she toured her future office space and everyone was just working or speaking quietly and politely. Complete culture shock."

Many Redditors criticized the mom's boss for not recognizing her value sooner and for committing "labor abuse."

BullS*******24-7 suggested the boss used her position as a single mom to take advantage of her, writing: "He knew all this and so he exploited her."

Hisaidky agreed, saying: "I'm p***** off he had been keeping her and your family under his thumb like that. Labor abuse straight up."

Prettygirlsrock1 added: "She only stayed for the stable income. She couldn't make to many unsure steps. He took advantage of that.

"I'm very happy for your mother and her family! Good for her!!"

Nannerooni told Newsweek that her mom is excited to start her new role.

She said: "She is looking forward to the increased salary, narrower scope and improved office conditions.

"I'm proud of her for sure. She does her best all the time."

Other bad boss stories to recently go viral on Reddit include a micro-manager who demanded employees "ask" before using the bathroom, a grown woman who berated a teenage employee over Snapchat, and a "heartless" boss who provided only two days of bereavement leave for a woman who lost her mom.

Update 5/27/22, 4:03 a.m. EDT: This article was updated to include comments from nannerooni.