Newsweek
By Taylor McCloud - Yesterday 9:59 PM
'Overlooked': Employee Backed for Not Training Person Hired for Dream Job
Members of a popular internet forum showed support for one long-time employee who was faced with the prospect of training someone for the position they believed they deserved.
In a viral Reddit thread published on r/AmITheA**ho-e, Redditor u/watashiwaikiru (otherwise referred to as the original poster, or OP) said they shouldered a much greater workload after their manager's health declined and thought they were in line to take over the vacated role until a new hire stopped that notion in its tracks.
Titled, "[Am I the a**ho-e] for not training the person that got the job I wanted?" the post has received nearly 6,800 votes and 800 comments in the last day.
Explaining that they have worked for their employer for almost three years, the original poster said that eight months ago, their work responsibilities changed dramatically.
"My manager's health took a slight turn...and they officially made me assistant manager," OP wrote. "Since then I have taken on a lot of my manager's responsibilities and have run the [department] on multiple occasions."
"A number of weeks ago my manager resigned and finished up a couple days later," OP continued. "I put my hand up for the role [and] all discussion with upper management indicated that I would be next in line."
"Last week a new manager for the department was hired and they started a day later," OP added.
Acknowledging the disappointment of not being selected to fill their manager's role, the original poster said they found themselves training the new hire to do the job, but refused to let that go on for long.
"The new person really knows nothing specific to this department," OP wrote. "I spent the next day essentially teaching them what to do from the ground up."
"This frustrated me...so I took annual leave all last week and my phone hasn't stopped ringing because the new manager really doesn't know anything about our specific department, and they have no clue what to do day to day," OP continued. "I haven't been answering."
"Sure they might be a good manager with past experience, but if they were hired over me, then they should be able to do the job right?" OP added, sarcastically.
In certain cases, like when an employee is moving on to a different company, or upwards within their own, training a replacement makes sense and can greatly help a new hire acclimate to their new position.