As crazy as it sounds to some people who are always caught up in the corporate rat race, not everyone wants to be the big dog, the head honcho, the top cheese, the leader of the pack…you get the point.

Some folks are perfectly content being somewhere in the middle when it comes to work responsbilities.

They show up, do their job to the best of their ability, and then they go home.

But that attitude can be confusing to some folks who are always trying to make their way up the corporate ladder.

In this story, a worker explained how they reacted when their manager suggested that they might be in line for a promotion.

Read on and see what you think.

My manager tried to hint at a promotion for me today. I told her I’m not interested.

“I’ve been working at this company for about four years.

I’m 41, have a college degree, and the job is decent. It’s a hybrid role, so I work from home (WFH) on Mondays and Wednesdays. I get a steady paycheck, and the pay is good for what’s required of me.

Raises ain’t what they used to be, huh?

But here’s the thing: in my first performance review, they gave me about a $3 raise. This past April, during the annual review, the raise was a mere $0.85. That was a real eye-opener for me.

After that incident, my whole approach to work changed. I no longer engage in office chatter (honestly, your coworkers aren’t your friends). I just put on my headphones and focus on my work. I get everything done well and on time.

The desire to put in extra work goes away if a worker isn’t treated the right way.

I still log in about 10-20 minutes early, especially on work from home days, but I never stay past my scheduled hours. I don’t dislike the job, but I have no passion for it. It’s just a means to an end until I figure out what’s next.

Anyway, this morning, my manager asked if we could talk privately ‘in a little while.’ I’m diagnosed with GAD and have a history of panic attacks, so I immediately told her that’s one of the worst things you can say to someone with anxiety.

I asked if she could just give me the summary now. She insisted it wasn’t anything bad, and not about my performance, but that it was work-related and she wanted to speak away from my desk mate.

Honesty is the best policy!

Fast forward: we finally talked for about 45 minutes. She started with the classic ‘Where do you see yourself in the future of this company?’ I’m trying to be more honest these days, so I told her the truth: I don’t really plan for the future like that.

I’ve experienced a lot of personal loss in my life, which has taught me to focus on the present. She then brought up my frustration with the raise, which I confirmed.

And that’s when she made her pitch: if my current workload wasn’t too much for me (it is, of course, but I manage), I could start taking on more senior tasks, and then we could look at another salary adjustment.

Sometimes, raises and promotions just aren’t worth it!

Of course, I shut it down. I told her to her face that I’m content with my current position and have no interest in being promoted or taking on more responsibility ‘at this time.’

I just want to continue in my role as is. She seemed surprised but kept pushing, saying that she and the department head see me as ‘very competent’ and that I could easily handle more work.

The truth is, I’m competent because I only work at about 60% of my actual speed.

I learned early on that if you work too fast, you end up dealing with other people’s problems and last-minute messes, which I also told her I’m no longer interested in doing.

So I told her I’d prefer they see me as someone who works at a normal, sustainable pace.

Anyway, I just needed to vent. I feel like the conversation went well from my side. But I think she left the meeting very frustrated. Oh well.”

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If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a job-hunter who was shocked when the recruiting company told them too turn down a job because the salary was too low.

Check out what folks had to say about this on Reddit.

This person weighed in.

And this reader spoke up.

Well, you gotta give this guy some credit.

He does his thing, does it reasonably well, and that’s all he wants.

He’s not looking to move up at this job because, frankly, he probably knows deep down he doesn’t want to be there forever.

So a promotion might make him feel trapped in some way.

This worker knows exactly what he wants…and he’s just fine right where he’s at!