Employee upset after 1% raise despite long hours, asks online if he should talk to boss

A worker shared a post on Reddit asking if it is worth talking to his boss after he got only a 1% merit raise, according to his own post. He said he works in a salary job linked to sales in the healthcare insurance industry and has been with the company for 5 years. The worker explained he was promoted 2 years ago and is now one of the most senior team members, often handling tough projects, training new hires, and managing process documents.

He also said he works on many special projects and is cross-trained in different areas to support the team. Last year, he was chosen to lead a very important company RFP project with a tight January 6 deadline because management wanted the best employees, he wrote. He claimed the project badly affected his personal life because he worked around 70 hours a week from early December until submission.

He said he even worked from 7 AM to 9 PM on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, despite officially being on leave. The worker added he spent most of Christmas locked in a room working and later cried on New Year’s Day because he missed family time with his kids. He said the project was completed successfully, submitted on time, and was seen internally as an “almost impossible” deadline, based on his account.

Small raise shock

According to him, his boss and others praised his work and said it brought positive recognition to the team. However, during his performance review, he received a “Meets Expectations” rating and only a 1% salary raise. He noted the company’s stock price had fallen and layoffs had happened, which he believes affected pay decisions.

He also said employee benefits got worse — health insurance costs increased and 401k matching decreased, meaning he feels like he actually took a pay cut. The worker asked others whether he should talk to his boss, stay quiet, or look for a new job, as he wrote.

Mixed advice online

Some commenters advised that talking to the boss may not help because the manager likely has no control over pay decisions. Others said the company might be struggling financially but he should not quit without another stable job, especially because he has a family, based on comments. Several users suggested “quiet quitting,” meaning doing only expected work and not over-working to avoid burnout.

One commenter said quiet quitting can help him avoid becoming the go-to person for stressful projects and give space to plan career growth. Another user advised he should still raise the issue politely with his boss, because no one will push for him unless he speaks up. The discussion ended with mixed advice: some urged him to stay calm and plan an exit, while others said to communicate first before making any big decision, based on the overall comment reactions.

FAQs

Q1. Why did the worker feel upset about a 1% raise?

He felt hurt because he worked very long hours on an important project but still got only a very small salary increase, according to his post on Reddit.

Q2. What advice did people give the worker online?

Many users suggested he should either talk calmly to his boss, look for a new job, or do only basic work to avoid stress.