She is not running away. 1 They wanted a programmer, and had never had a programmer, but had nothing for me to program. OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole: I should be judged for asking for a demotion and this would take some duties away from my boss, but I would also be pushing a lot of my . Speak with your manager. People change. It may not be as simple as just approving her request. But it's very unlikely as it's simply not a good business practice to fire someone simply for asking for a raise. If she wants to have baby next year, it is a clever move to settle things, reduce workload, get rid of responsibilities now. Even if you demote an employee for their work, they might be able to sue you for discrimination. I raise my hat to the person who recognises that they have been over-promoted and decides to do something about it. Although this should come with regular check-ins (which are generally a good idea anyway) to make sure she actually likes her current role at any given point in time and where her career is headed with any new responsibilities. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? ._12xlue8dQ1odPw1J81FIGQ{display:inline-block;vertical-align:middle} Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been. You can pick or choose what makes sense to ask or skip, what to expand on or what else to ask, especially given her answers or what you already know. Prepare a realistic budget. So, I stepped down. I mean, we can read ten million articles on how to ask for a promotion, raises, new titles, and so on and so forth, but how do you ask for a demotion without running the risk of getting refused or even laid off? People do not throw away an extra ~20k/year easily. Nathan Brunner is a labor market expert. I don't want to go through the process of getting a new job, but I just don't know what to do. You may need to seek support from friends, family and/or counselors outside the workplace, in order to share and address your feelings. In addition co-workers will be asking you what happened. (It gives special employee recognition, and demonstrates your Leadership.) Your boss will want an explanation for your request. ._2Gt13AX94UlLxkluAMsZqP{background-position:50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-size:contain;position:relative;display:inline-block} /*# sourceMappingURL=https://www.redditstatic.com/desktop2x/chunkCSS/TopicLinksContainer.3b33fc17a17cec1345d4_.css.map*/Finish this request with the finality of.. if i cannot get the training and monies, that this position requires.. then i will need to give this position up for a lesser position. But really, in an at-will state, employees can be fired at any time for any reason. You did something wrong that forced your company to fire you. Organize your argument in a coherent flow that will help your manager understand your motives. Here's one more possibility that I haven't seen directly mentioned here - she genuinely wants more free time/less difficult life because her priorities and worldview have changed. It only takes a minute to sign up. Depression is a very common mental health disorder with over 3 million cases in the United States per year. ._1x9diBHPBP-hL1JiwUwJ5J{font-size:14px;font-weight:500;line-height:18px;color:#ff585b;padding-left:3px;padding-right:24px}._2B0OHMLKb9TXNdd9g5Ere-,._1xKxnscCn2PjBiXhorZef4{height:16px;padding-right:4px;vertical-align:top}.icon._1LLqoNXrOsaIkMtOuTBmO5{height:20px;vertical-align:middle;padding-right:8px}.QB2Yrr8uihZVRhvwrKuMS{height:18px;padding-right:8px;vertical-align:top}._3w_KK8BUvCMkCPWZVsZQn0{font-size:14px;font-weight:500;line-height:18px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon)}._3w_KK8BUvCMkCPWZVsZQn0 ._1LLqoNXrOsaIkMtOuTBmO5,._3w_KK8BUvCMkCPWZVsZQn0 ._2B0OHMLKb9TXNdd9g5Ere-,._3w_KK8BUvCMkCPWZVsZQn0 ._1xKxnscCn2PjBiXhorZef4,._3w_KK8BUvCMkCPWZVsZQn0 .QB2Yrr8uihZVRhvwrKuMS{fill:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon)} No, you cannot be fired for having depression. Be careful with this one, as it may sound a bit confrontational. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you. This is probably the hardest part for many people because you will have to answer questions, deal with managers or bosses who really dont want you to step down, and hold to your decision while other people are undermining it. Being demoted is painful - you can feel rejected, unwanted and unappreciated. But it is definitely a red flag to me that this company has put you in this position and they sound like a mess. Yes, a Catholic priest can be fired, though the process and reasons vary by jurisdiction. I was all right at my job, but all right wasnt going to be of service to the school. Yes, let's start with blaming the victim, but there are some completely inept, incapable and incompetent people out there who are utterly convinced that they are geniuses and are deserving of huge. Not everyone wants to buy a mansion. In fact, you can get fired for anything that's not protected by federal law (think gender, race, pregnancy, and disability), particularly if you are an at-will employee. Suzanne Lucas spent 10 years in corporate human resources, where she hired, fired, managed the numbers and double-checked with the lawyers. My team of 20 got laid off, 5 of us kept for 2 months to train the offshore "replacements" (as if 120 man-years of institutional knowledge could be passed on in 2 months anyway). Typically the person in charge is more likely to be disciplined or fired. But for some reason going back to the trenches is frowned upon, plus they get more money, and so they stick with it. After you put in a request for demotion, your fate is left in the hands of your manager and other higher-ups who may be involved in the final decision-making. And even if it is exactly what she thought the job would be: people and the circumstances of their life change all the time. ._9ZuQyDXhFth1qKJF4KNm8{padding:12px 12px 40px}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM,._1JmnMJclrTwTPpAip5U_Hm{font-size:16px;font-weight:500;line-height:20px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);margin-bottom:40px;padding-top:4px;text-align:left;margin-right:28px}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM{-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex}._2iNJX36LR2tMHx_unzEkVM ._24r4TaTKqNLBGA3VgswFrN{margin-left:6px}._306gA2lxjCHX44ssikUp3O{margin-bottom:32px}._1Omf6afKRpv3RKNCWjIyJ4{font-size:18px;font-weight:500;line-height:22px;border-bottom:2px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-line);color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);margin-bottom:8px;padding-bottom:8px}._2Ss7VGMX-UPKt9NhFRtgTz{margin-bottom:24px}._3vWu4F9B4X4Yc-Gm86-FMP{border-bottom:1px solid var(--newCommunityTheme-line);margin-bottom:8px;padding-bottom:2px}._3vWu4F9B4X4Yc-Gm86-FMP:last-of-type{border-bottom-width:0}._2qAEe8HGjtHsuKsHqNCa9u{font-size:14px;font-weight:500;line-height:18px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-bodyText);padding-bottom:8px;padding-top:8px}.c5RWd-O3CYE-XSLdTyjtI{padding:8px 0}._3whORKuQps-WQpSceAyHuF{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon);margin-bottom:8px}._1Qk-ka6_CJz1fU3OUfeznu{margin-bottom:8px}._3ds8Wk2l32hr3hLddQshhG{font-weight:500}._1h0r6vtgOzgWtu-GNBO6Yb,._3ds8Wk2l32hr3hLddQshhG{font-size:12px;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon)}._1h0r6vtgOzgWtu-GNBO6Yb{font-weight:400}.horIoLCod23xkzt7MmTpC{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:#ea0027}._33Iw1wpNZ-uhC05tWsB9xi{margin-top:24px}._2M7LQbQxH40ingJ9h9RslL{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;line-height:16px;color:var(--newCommunityTheme-actionIcon);margin-bottom:8px} Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Offering to stay on until a replacement is secured would mean less stress for your manager and less reason to fire you. she used to be a branch manager and became a regional manager) or is the new job a different type (e.g. I managed a team for two years, and mostly enjoyed it, and got good results out of it. This is obviously not the case anymore Not everyone wants to climb the career ladder. Inform the employee Schedule an in-person meeting with the employee in a private setting. Also, a physical or mental impairment does not need to be severe to be considered a . Please ensure you have reviewed this message in full. I don't want to add another answer, so a comment here: that employee's answer might mean that this job is too stressful. Its important to keep an open mind to what other people say, but also make sure to hold firm on why you want what you want. Many employers may start . Ask others, as outside your immediate focus area as possible, if this has ever been done. There are plenty of reasons why someone may want to get demoted, especially in this day and age where many people are taking care of sick family members, elders, and children or people prefer to work remotely or dont feel the need to climb the corporate ladder. How to deal with an employee who is requesting a demotion? Be honest: Be clear and honest about why you want to get demoted. Such roles may still involve a bit of people management, but focuses on bringing value to the company more through technical expertise than management expertise. Federal law makes it illegal for most employers to fire an employee because of the employee's race, gender, national origin, disability, religion, genetic information, or age (if the person is at least 40 years old). I don't see why it's a problem, and she might even be willing to cover the job temporarily when her replacement is absent. Hopefully not. I'm 21f and to be clear I have zero idea what I am doing. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Quite a few people want different things from a job: When I worked at a university helpdesk, we had two kinds of employees who flourished: The combination of these non-traditional-career people worked extremely well, the helpdesk was efficient, knowledgeable, reliable, didn't have problematic staff turnover, and was pretty cheap considering it's skill level. I don't know what industry you're in, but it's almost a meme in software about great programmers who become managers (perhaps figuring that they can't be worse than the current ones) and then find they hate it. All Rights Reserved. Here's a tip: Consider the new pay carefully. If you don't have anyone lined up, make arrangements for interviews and tell her that you are in the process of finding a replacement. 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