Goodstorie

After two years of giving me all the senior workload, they promoted the worst person on the team just for her social presence. So I quit, and now no one’s left who knows what I do. After two years of promises, they gave my promotion to the worst person on the team, so I left and let them sink.

Original Post: The Unrecognized Effort

I’ve been working as a graphic designer in the marketing department of my company for around 3-4 years. When I started, our team was small—just three of us, including a team lead I respected deeply. Although we were a small group, I loved the creative challenges and the close collaboration with my coworkers. As the team grew, I quickly became known as one of the most dedicated and fastest designers. I trained every new hire, led projects, delivered presentations, and even organized workshops for the team. Over time, I took on the responsibilities you’d expect of a **senior designer** and gave my all to each project.

Then things started to change. My team lead left, which meant even more responsibilities landed on my plate as we had no replacement for over a year. It felt like the perfect opportunity to prove I was ready for a senior designer role. During my annual review, I was told that I was on track for promotion, and if I kept up the hard work, I’d be promoted within a year. But then I saw something that made my stomach drop: a new coworker, a notoriously lazy and toxic person, was promoted to senior designer. I was stunned. She had joined the team long after me, did the absolute bare minimum, and often passed her unfinished projects to me because I was fast. She had no clue about design strategy, stakeholder management, or even team collaboration. She would sweet-talk the higher-ups, take credit for things she didn’t do, and leave the actual work to the rest of us. What really killed me was seeing her act like a leader, setting team guidelines she didn’t even follow herself. She had a reputation among stakeholders as being difficult to work with, and they often requested that I handle their projects instead of her.

After months of this, we finally got a new team lead, and I saw a chance to fight for the promotion I’d been promised. I prepared a presentation showcasing my project successes, positive feedback from coworkers, and a portfolio of senior-level work I’d been handling. The new team lead was impressed and acknowledged that I was one of the most talented designers on the team. I thought that finally someone saw my hard work. But not long after, the same coworker messed up a big project, which affected not only my workflow but also my reputation because she had involved me to cover for her. I corrected her work, but instead of appreciating it, she stormed into the office accusing me of embarrassing her in front of the stakeholders. I calmly explained that I was simply following project guidelines that she had ignored. When our team lead got involved, he agreed I was in the right but seemed too scared to confront her fully, coddling her to keep her quiet.

By the time my next annual review came around, I was at my wit’s end, but I still held on to a shred of hope that I’d finally be recognized. Instead, my team lead gave me a three-star rating out of five and told me I should be more “present.” He even had the nerve to compare me to the lazy coworker, saying I needed to emulate her “social presence.” I was floored. I had been the one keeping our team running, training new hires, checking everyone’s work, and fixing her mistakes, and this was how I was rewarded? I refused to sign the review papers, telling him I wouldn’t be proving anything else. I said that if he thought she was senior material, then he could let her handle the work. I would step back and do only what was required: no more senior-level tasks, training, or rescuing her half-finished projects. He started panicking and offered me the promotion in 6 months instead of a year, but I was done. Two weeks later, I accepted a higher-paying job offer and handed in my notice. My manager was shocked, begging me to stay and asking what he could do to make things right. I told him there was nothing he could say that would make up for the years of disrespect.

As soon as I decided to leave, I knew exactly how I’d handle my departure. Since all those senior tasks were no longer my problem, I wasn’t going to spend my final two weeks writing down guidelines or passing on any of the knowledge I’d built up over the years. If I wasn’t senior enough to earn the title, why should I act like one? Almost 60% of the work process and design systems and templates that kept our team afloat were things I had built from scratch. I knew it would take them months to untangle the gaps I was about to leave behind. The team leader must have realized this pretty quickly because every day he started showing up at my desk with desperate pleas for help: “Just a few guidelines!” or “A workflow! One last time!” Each time I reminded him that he’d refused my promotion, and as far as I was concerned, that meant my time and expertise were no longer his to ask for. The day I handed in my badge and walked out of that building was the first time I felt genuinely free in years. Now I’m in a new job where my contributions are recognized and rewarded. Looking back, I could only hope this experience was a lesson for my former team lead and his senior designer. Maybe they’ll learn what happens when you overlook someone’s hard work and loyalty for the wrong reasons. But honestly, that’s no longer my problem.

First, thank you all for reading my post and sharing your own experiences. It’s surprising how many people have faced similar situations. Your support has helped me move on, even if I can’t forget what I went through. I hope this post encourages others to value themselves and push for the respect they deserve. Some of you thought I was overplaying my skills, but when you’ve put in years of hard work, gained experience, and learned your worth, you stop holding back. This was my breaking point, a major wake-up call that I’d had enough. For a bit more context, my team lead was new to management and struggled to handle conflicts. As for my lazy coworker, some of you suggested she “slept” her way to the promotion, but that wasn’t the case. She was just very chatty and good at charming people, which helped her get ahead in a gossip-prone office.

So what happened after I left? I’m still in touch with my former project coordinator, my “work bestie,” who has kept me updated. They tried to get my ex-coworker to step up, but unsurprisingly, nothing changed. She’s still slacking off, and her behavior remains unchecked. To replace me, they had to divide my workload among three or four junior designers and even merge two teams to manage it. This led to frustration because juniors and mediators were suddenly on the same level, causing some resentment. They also lost a lot of the work I’d done, so they had to redo it from scratch. In the end, the company didn’t experience a major collapse, but they’re still struggling with my lazy ex-coworker who managed to shift her responsibilities onto the juniors. So in a way, she got her win-win. The lesson: everyone is replaceable, but knowing your worth is crucial. I absolutely love my new job where I’m working with my amazing old team lead who left before all this mess. My hard work is recognized and appreciated. The best part? There are no junior or senior titles. We’re all equal as graphic designers, and it’s refreshing.

Am I the asshole for refusing to help my parents financially after they secretly supported my perfect sibling instead of me? I (28F) have always been the self-sufficient one. I worked hard, earned scholarships, and took on part-time jobs to pay my way through college. Meanwhile, my younger sibling had everything handed to them: a new car, fully paid tuition, and even an apartment. I assumed my parents were simply more financially stable when my sibling came along, and I didn’t want to make a fuss. Fast forward to last month, my parents called saying they were in financial trouble and asked if I could help them with a loan. I considered doing the right thing, but something didn’t add up. So I asked them directly why they had spent so much on my sibling and not on me. That’s when they admitted that they had actually saved for both of us but used almost all of the money to support my sibling because “sibling needed it more.” I was devastated. I had worked myself to exhaustion just to stay afloat while they funded my sibling’s every whim, fully aware that I was struggling. I told them I couldn’t help them financially because it wouldn’t be fair to myself. Now my sibling and some extended family members are calling me heartless and ungrateful, saying that family supports each other and accusing me of letting my parents suffer over old grudges. Am I the asshole for refusing to bail out my parents after learning the truth about their financial favoritism?

Am I the asshole for refusing to give my brother $30,000 of the $50,000 that our grandfather left me in his will? I (32M) recently received $50,000 from my grandfather’s estate. I was incredibly close to him. I visited every week, especially as he got older and his health declined. I was there through it all, taking him to doctor’s appointments and sometimes just sitting with him while he watched his favorite shows. He was like a father to me, and when he passed, it hit me hard. My younger brother, Matt (27M), had a different relationship with Grandpa. It’s not that he didn’t care; he did, but he was always busy. Matt lives a few hours away, has a demanding job, and is starting a family with his pregnant wife. He visited on holidays and special occasions, but that was about it. I always figured that was just how he was. Reading the will, we found out that grandpa had left Matt some sentimental items (transcripts provided by Transcription Outsourcing LLC). I loved him and never did any of it for the money, but when I received the inheritance, it felt like his way of saying thank you.

A couple of weeks after the funeral, Matt reached out, saying he needed to talk. He came over, and after some small talk, he asked me for $30,000 of the inheritance. He explained that he was drowning in debt, the pregnancy brought extra expenses, and he just needed some help to get back on track. He said he wouldn’t ask if he weren’t desperate. I felt bad for him, I really did, but I also felt conflicted. This money wasn’t something I had expected, but I’d already started making plans for it. I’ve been wanting to open a small woodworking business, something I’m passionate about and have been saving for over the years. This inheritance was the missing piece to make that dream a reality, and I feel like my grandfather knew that when he left it to me. I told Matt I couldn’t give him the $30,000. I said I’d be happy to help in smaller ways, like offering some of the savings I had set aside, but I wanted to keep most of the inheritance for the business I’d been dreaming of. I even offered to help him look for financial assistance or budgeting advice. Looking back, that may have come off as petty, but I didn’t mean it that way. He didn’t take it well. Matt accused me of being selfish and valuing my “non-existent hobby” over helping my own brother and future niece or nephew. He said I didn’t understand the stress he was under, and to make matters worse, our parents have sided with him. Mom says family should come first and that Grandpa would have wanted me to help. Now I feel like the bad guy. I didn’t ask for this money, and I don’t want to damage my relationship with my brother, but this is the first time in my life I feel like I could actually follow a dream, and I don’t want to give that up. Am I the asshole?

Am I the asshole for exposing my sister’s secret life after she sabotaged mine? I (28F) have a sister, Rachel (26F), who has always been the “Golden Child.” She is charming, beautiful, and seems to have everything together. Meanwhile, I’ve struggled with anxiety and never felt like I measured up. Last year, I finally got a promotion at work that I worked hard for. Rachel, being jealous, tried to undermine me by spreading rumors that I was incompetent and unqualified. I found out when a coworker confronted me about the rumors, and it devastated me. In retaliation, I decided to look deeper into Rachel’s life. What I found was shocking: she was involved in a secret relationship with a married man who was a family friend.

I confronted her, and at first, she denied it, but then she broke down and admitted the truth. I told her I would keep quiet if she stopped trying to sabotage me. However, she continued her tactics, even trying to convince our parents that I was lying about my promotion. Feeling betrayed and hurt, I decided to tell our parents the truth about her relationship. The fallout was catastrophic. Our parents were furious with Rachel, and she is currently cut off from the family. Now I feel like the villain. I didn’t want to expose her, but I was desperate and felt I had no other option. Am I the asshole for exposing her when she was already hurting me?