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Being the reliable one at work is supposed to count for something, but as we see time and time again, it often doesn’t.

One lab analyst had spent five years building a reputation as the most dependable person on the team, covering shifts on their own days off, communicating constantly with the boss, and even being told directly that they were being considered for management.

Meanwhile, their coworker had become a textbook case of quiet quitting, coming in hours early just to nap, leaving early, and doing the bare minimum required to get by, something even the boss openly acknowledged.

When the deputy director position opened up, the star employee assumed their track record would speak for itself.

Instead, the boss chose the other analyst based purely on seniority, dismissing years of visible effort in favor of someone who’d barely shown up.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

Director chooses seniority over merit.

So I’ve been working in a lab setting for a little over 5 years.

We had 2 analysts along with the director and deputy.

Deputy director got let go, so time came up for a new deputy.

Not everyone at the lab did their fair share.

The other analyst for the past 4 years has really been the definition of ‘quiet quit,’ literally comes in 6 hours before shift start to sleep, and would go home hours before our time was up, stays in the break room most of the day.

Generally would do nothing beyond our samples that needed ran, really only did as bare minimum as one could get.

Even the director made a comment to me about how little the guy does and the quality of said work. Worst review score out of all of us, etc. Even going as far as getting another job and giving his all there, but sleeping the day away in the breakroom.

This employee was quite the opposite.

Meanwhile you have me, I have been the director’s most reliable analyst.

I communicate fully, let him know everything going on in the lab, I clean literally everything in and out of the lab itself, come in the days the director is out of town or on vacation even though they’re my days off.

Even in my review (which I received the highest rating in the lab) he mentioned about wanting me trained in management, that he was fully confident in my ability to manage our lab scope.

But when it came time for the promotion, things didn’t go as expected.

So the time comes to announce the new deputy.

Director tells me he’s choosing the other guy based off the amount of time he’s been here, a guy that has been just a lump.

I told the director I’m disappointed in his decision.

And he said, “Well, he has been here longer.”

She’s over it.

Yes he has, but why would you choose someone who really hasn’t been present these past years.

Which he replied, “Well, I’m old school and I look at seniority. I remember he worked good (years ago, mind you) so I want to see what he can do.”

So I dusted off my resume and am currently on the hunt for hopefully better opportunities.

Just a rant that no matter how hard you put up and put out, it’s not seen at all.

Goodbye, toxic boss!

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What did Reddit have to say?

This user says don’t hate the player, hate the game.

Maybe the boss has some larger scheme the employee has no idea about.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a customer who tried to skip the checkout line but didn’t get their way.

This user hopes the boss gets what’s coming to him some day.

The wildest part of this story was the boss openly giving this coworker dismal performance reviews and still handing him a promotion he didn’t deserve.

Sure, seniority is a sign of loyalty, but most people would say this coworker was simply coasting at an easy job than staying somewhere out of truly caring about the work.

Some workplaces reward effort, but this one apparently rewards showing up first and doing the least.

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Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.