This story is about how toxic managers drive good employees away, and how sometimes the best revenge is succeeding somewhere else without them.
Same Company. Different Cities.
I’ve worked at the same multinational company for years. Human Resources is located in Singapore for the region. There are two main offices in Malaysia: Cyberjaya and Bangsar South.
I worked in the Cyberjaya office, and there were problems. Namely the boss: She was toxic and as manipulative as possible. Feedback and performance reviews were all about gaslighting. Targets and objectives would change without notice. Budgets shrank mysteriously. And after two years in that office, she still couldn’t get mine or anyone else’s name correct. She kept calling me “Akhbar.” My name is Ahmad.
Blaming COVID again
My 2023 performance review was amongst the best in the office: I’d hit all of my targets and KPIs, but strangely, several of them had been changed without notice. Just like the previous years, there was a “hiring freeze” and a “budget shortfall.” There would be no raise or bonuses paid because of the “regional cost controls still blamed on COVID/pandemic related losses.”
I argued that I had seen the postings for new hires, where junior positions for new hires were being offered salaries up to 20% more than what I was earning. My boss snapped at me to, “Watch your tone Akhbar! I don’t appreciate your attitude.”
I left that meeting more than a little angry.
A New Job
Instead of quitting, I checked the internal HR platform. Sure enough, my exact same job as Accounts Manager was available in the company’s Bangsar South Office. Even the internal portal listed a salary where the lower range on the salary estimate was RM2,500 higher monthly than what I was currently earning.
To bypass my boss I applied externally, interviewed and I got the job. Starting in six weeks at the Bangsar South office. Same role. 40% higher pay. Hybrid setup, just two days in the office. I could even take the LRT to work instead of driving and also cut my travel time in half.
Leaving to Start Over
I gave one months’ notice, and did a clean handover on my last day in Cyberjaya.
I went on vacation to Cameron Highlands with my family. We stayed at a small bed and breakfast, explored places like the Lavender Garden and Boh Tea Plantation. I blocked my ex-boss after her fourth call for help with something already documented in my handover.
I started my new job, and my new boss loved me because I “picked things up” pretty fast. I got along well with people who already knew me in other offices and with remote team members as well.
I was also aware that my ex-boss from Cyberjaya had been visiting the Bangsar office. She wasn’t looking for me but I decided to work from home whenever I knew she was going to be around. Better to stay out of it than deal with drama.
Three Years Later
I worked hard, got paid well, and earned my performance bonuses over the next three years. Just after Raya in 2026, I got promoted: Senior Accounts Manager. A 15% pay rise and a performance bonus.
The only problem? Getting promoted meant attending a company-sponsored celebration. I wanted to skip it because my ex-boss would be there, but these things aren’t optional. I braced myself and prepared for the worst.
Naturally, she recognized my face. Then she called me “Akhbar” again, in front of everyone. I just shrugged when people asked. For the first time, I was glad she never got my name right.
Here’s to the future
My ex-boss never understood that saying “there is no money” for raises and promotions while hiring new people, paying them more and then expecting existing underpaid staff to train them. All you’re really doing is pushing your best people out the door.
All things considered, here’s hoping I get promoted again next year!
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Read also: ‘I gave up my family to pursue my dreams’ Shares 34 YO M’sian woman – In Real Life
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