Common Motif
At one time or another, we have all felt underappreciated at work. You may just not enjoy your position and you’re putting in your best but it just never seems enough. Maybe you really love your job and always give your best, but it still isn’t enough. Sometimes we don’t even know we are under-valued until someone says something to change our perspective forever. Whichever combination it is, you should always feel valued as an employee. If you share this experience, maybe it is time to advocate for yourself. As we see in one woman’s case, sometimes you need to value yourself to see what’s good for you. Oh, and revenge, revenge is good too.
There is never a better time for revenge than when the other person thinks they have all of the power. Especially when they will be powerless when you take it away from them. Sometimes it is better to be the bigger person, but it is always better to make sure you are not being taken advantage of. And even if you have a great job and love every aspect and get treated well, a revenge story is still always enjoyable.
‘Mandy’ was as hardworking as ever, it almost seemed like she had superpowers. She was an All-Star employee, like some of you out there working. Mandy never suspected anything was going to change her relationship with her career. However, one person’s comment completely altered her viewpoint. Mandy had her life in her hands and she made the most important decision she ever had to make in her working life.
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Work Ethic
Mandy had worked for this company for about five years. It wasn’t a super old company, had only been established about 10 years before she started working with them. In the short five years, she was there, Mandy caused astounding growth. In fact, “it ballooned to be the number one provider in the region for its unique service with about 75 percent of the market.” This was impressive for a “small business of about 15 employees.” Somehow Mandy had enabled the company to flourish. If this wasn’t a testament to how valuable she is, I don’t know what would be.
To add to her success, she also loved her job. She was learning skills she could implement in the future and her team was amazing. Mandy felt at home in this company.
She was so good at her job, Mandy never received any “recommendations for improvement,” on her bi-annual reviews. These reviews were done with the owner and she always received a “10/10.”
Mandy knew she was “exceptional at [her] job in every way. And for how much she did, I would expect nothing less! Mandy “handled company operations, HR/payroll, customer service, marketing, employee management, schedules, employee and client training, and many other things at this company.” She was also fully capable of stepping in for co-workers when they were out sick or taking time off.
Let’s all agree Mandy was MVP at this company. However, she soon realized someone didn’t feel the same way.
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The Bonus
The trouble began when “the owner of the company was giving out a bonus late summer last year.” Across the board the bonuses had increased; however, Mandy noticed hers was “notably less than [her] teammates.” This sparked more than a little confusion. Her first thought was to ask the owner directly. No reason not to go straight to the source. She had to know why her bonus was less than her co-workers.
Mandy went to the owner and asked, “Are the bonuses related to performance, and if so, what could I have done to earn more?”
She wasn’t shy about her performance. After so many perfect reviews, she knew she was an exemplary employee. However, she was also willing to change something if the owner felt like something was lacking. She didn’t want to come off conceited, and she knew there could always be room for growth. But she was a stellar worker and had done wonders for the company. This must have been some numerical error. The owner’s response was a complete side swipe.
The owner replied to her, “The bonuses are not performance-related, you are just more replaceable than the others.”
Mandy hid her shock and simply replied, “Oh, okay.”
She “proceeded to process each of the bonuses then went to lunch.” Once Mandy was on her lunch break she called her spouse, “to gain wisdom and advice.” She was pretty fired up about the whole ordeal. Her thoughts were all over the place and she wanted to make sure she wasn’t acting out of turn. I would have clocked the owner right then and there, but Mandy knew this was about to get complicated if she didn’t choose her actions wisely.
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Brainstorming
Mandy’s spouse “Ryan” is quite intelligent and also very intuitive. He was able to predict how people would react to situations. He was a people person, knowing the likelihood the owner would have a bad response or a positive response to Mandy’s actions.
She knew had a decision to make. Suddenly all of her 10/10 reviews seemed cheap and worthless. The owner had told her she was replaceable. No one wants to hear those words come out of their bosses mouth. Mandy was torn up about it. Especially since she knew all she had done to make the company the best in the business. Who knows how far they would have gotten without her. After their first ten years, they had made very little progress. Mandy had turned the place around and they all knew it. How could the owner act like she hadn’t done all of this for his company?
Ryan is more than capable of giving sound advice when it comes to giving business advice. Ryan has been “on the executive team of a large company for the past 21 years while also serving on several community boards and business advisory boards.” He knew the ins and outs of the business world, he also knew her value, both as a person and an employee.
Mandy and Ryan had planned a vacation around this time and they decided they still wanted to go. It was actually the perfect opportunity to “use the time away to calm [their] minds, relax, have fun, and to also determine the best course of action for [Mandy].”
It was only one day away, so Mandy just needed to work like normal one day and then they were off to try and figure things out.
Ryan and Mandy went over everything together. The whole ordeal was a shock. Those simple words “you’re replaceable” had changed everything for Mandy. They decided it was necessary to involve “a business advisor and a business attorney.” They had a plan in the works and they needed all hands on deck.
Mandy made the decision. Once they returned, she was going to rip the bandaid off. Five years of hard work and success had been reduced to ashes with three words. Mandy knew she had the power to do even more with a piece of paper.
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Flourishing
Mandy knew it was for the best and she was prepared for any eventuality when she walked in, two-weeks notice in hand. She was not received well. The owner “in a fit of rage,” terminated Mandy on the spot. Mandy and Ryan thought this might happen, “so [she] was prepared for the owner’s poor reaction.”
Then the plan really kicked into high gear. After leaving the company in the dust, Mandy decided to use her skills to her advantage. She “created and opened a competing business offering similar services.” However, she made several crucial changes. She “offered more customizable options with higher quality service and results.” This was something clients had requested and something Mandy herself recommended to the owner, but to no avail. The owner did not like an idea, good or bad, if it wasn’t an owner original.
Mandy already had a leg up with the new and improved business structure. Now she was leaps and bounds ahead when she “maintained communications with a few people from [her] old team.” She didn’t intend to spy, but she did hear about how poorly the company was doing without her. They had attempted to replace her with three individuals since her responsibilities had been extensive. They also had to fill two of her former duties with outside companies. Safe to say it was a disaster. “Service, quality, and the work environment in general suffered since [her] departure.”
Mandy was a listening ear for her former coworkers. She didn’t want to bad mouth the company, only offer support for the people she knew were undervalued as employees. And it wasn’t only the employees who had negative things to say. Mandy “also read the online reviews for the old company. Yikes!”
It didn’t take long for Mandy’s business to flourish. She had taken all of her skills and wisdom the other owner didn’t appreciate and became a powerhouse in her field. Three months passed and she had even hired a few of her old co-workers. She knew they were the best in the business and they deserved better treatment. Her former company continued to decline, rapidly. The business “went from being the number one provider of unique service in the region to nothing in a matter of months.”
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Turning The Tables
Since the whole company went under, Mandy’s former boss had to begin searching for new employment. Ryan even mentioned the owner had applied to his company. They turned the owner down. Mandy wished she could have been the one to see the owner face to face and say, “How replaceable am I now?”
It must have been ridiculously satisfying to know all of her hard work didn’t go to waste and the owner got a reality check. How many times have we all wondered when enough is enough when it comes to how management treats employees. Maybe it’s time for more employees to take a stand like Mandy. All it took was three words, “you are replaceable” and Mandy had all the motivation she needed.
More owners, managers, and leaders need to start appreciating their workers! If your story is similar to Mandy’s speak up and share it with us. Who knows how many have the same experience day in and day out and don’t know how to stand up for themselves.
And I am sure there are some of you who are so valuable you could turn your work into your own business. Just think of your boss’ face when you turn your worth into your own success. Go forth and prosper.
Mandy said the “moral of the story is, don’t tell your employees they are replaceable because they might create a competing business which becomes better than yours while taking your best employees and your clients which will leave you with no business to sell (owner’s whole retirement plan was to sell the business) and starting all over by searching for employment under someone else.”
After all, it looks like the company was replaceable, not Mandy.
Life is too short and too harsh not to be appreciated for your hard work and effort. Mandy is the parable for how to know when you’ve hit your limit and it is time to capitalize on your own skills.
Never sell yourself short again.
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