There are many different ways to climb the corporate ladder. But Reddit user Caprainyoung went for the classic do-such-a-good-job-that-the-bosses-will-notice-your-effort. And it paid off. Well, at least for the business. For him, the employee, not so much.

One of the company’s executives tried to exploit him using linguistic mumbo jumbo instead of something concrete that actually motivates people, and “offered” at least double the amount of work for virtually no additional compensation.

However, Caprainyoung knew his worth and wasn’t to be outdone. Continue scrolling to learn how the Redditor handled the situation from his post on r/antiwork.

When this employee was summoned for a meeting with the district manager, he thought he was getting a well-deserved promotion

Image credits: EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA (not the actual photo)

However, it turned out to be an offer that he could, in fact, refuse

Image credits: u/caprainyoung

We managed to get in contact with Caprainyoung and he said he joined the company because it was recommended to him through his father-in-law who did business with them.

“I was actually growing to really enjoy working there,” the Redditor told Bored Panda. “When I first started, however, I think I almost quit 6 times in my first couple of months. I came in fresh to not only the company but the industry as a whole to a massively failing department and a workload of 3 people. [But] after 4 months, I finally got a second person.”

Caprainyoung said he would not have taken the “lateral promotion” even if it was phrased as a transfer. “I knew the workload it entailed and this was very obviously a massive increase to my already borderline insane workload. On top of everything else, it also would have added another 30-45 minutes to commute,” he explained.

“As I mentioned in my post, I did my due diligence in researching this position and similar positions and when I went to the ‘interview,’ I asked for an increase in pay equal to what I found to be the median pay for the position,” the Redditor added. “This would have been an (in my mind) simple increase in pay from $21.50 to $25.00 [but] I was immediately told that was not possible.”

The original poster (OP) provided more details on what happened as his story went viral

According to a CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workplace Happiness Survey, forty percent of American workers are dissatisfied with the opportunities for advancement in their company.

Twenty-four percent of respondents said working hard would be the most help in receiving a job upgrade, while networking (19%) and receiving an advanced degree (16%) rounded out the top three.

However, the rising retirement age and the reduction in job levels within a corporation are making promotions less frequent all around.

Because of this, Ben Brooks, who is an executive coach and founder of the digital career training app PILOT, urges employees to change the way they think about advancing their careers.

Instead of attending networking events and passing out as many business cards as possible, Brooks is advising workers to focus more on cultivating deeper, stronger working relationships. And even if a new responsibility at a job doesn’t bring a new title with it, he believes every change should be looked at as an opportunity for career advancement, whether it be through meeting new people or seeking out other personal development opportunities.

Of course, having managers who see and value your input helps too.

And people were appalled by the company’s move just as much as he was

Some even shared their own similar experiences

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