63-year-old programmer ‘learns his worth’ after company he worked for for 30 years lets him out of retirement

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 2, 2022. It has since been updated.

Fearing that their financial security will be jeopardized and other aspects of their lives will be compromised, workers often put up with exploitation and emotional abuse at the hands of their employers. Far too many employers are aware of their power and underpay and undervalue their employees, while ignoring that investing in retaining qualified and reliable employees is one of the best business decisions they can make. Thankfully, there is much greater awareness of toxic professional practices and people are slowly learning to recognize their value and demand fair compensation.

For one Reddit user’s father, this happened shortly after his planned retirement. u/Unconquered- took to the r/antiwork community to share how her father – after 30 years of working for the same employer – finally realized what he was actually worth to the company. The Reddit user shared a screenshot of a conversation with his 63-year-old father, a programmer, in which he told them he was ending his retirement, but on his own terms. “Hey, maybe you were right about me. It looks like I’m retiring again next week,” he said in a text message to u/Unconquered-.

“Apparently my company had no idea how much I was making. Since I left on good terms, they asked me to come back,” he continued. The senior further explained that while he “tried to stay retired,” every time he made a new request, the company immediately agreed – that’s how badly they wanted him back. “I tried to stay retired, but they kept agreeing to my requests. I will get the same annual salary and bonus, but I will have Wednesdays off (32 hours a week),” he said proudly.

“I’ll just be coding. No customer support, no training, no sales trips, no user conferences, no customer contact of any kind,” the father concluded. u/Unconquered- shared the screenshot with other Reddit users, writing, “My 63 year old dad is learning his worth after 30 years at the same company. Fighting for fair compensation.” The comments section was filled with words of appreciation and awe, while some even suggested that the poster’s father could probably take advantage of the situation to get even more benefits or a higher salary. “Go on dad! I hope he gets everything he wants AND more,” BurntOutOnlyChild commented.

“One of the in-laws is an old school COBOL programmer who was lured out of retirement with a fat offer. He had them pay an upfront fee for hours that could be topped up when they needed him more. No upfront hours, no work. He kept it simple and to the point,” powerandbulk wrote, to which u/Unconquered- said her father was also a COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) programmer. “Reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend: She worked as an accountant for a grocery store. They paid her minimum wage ($7 an hour). I told her she could get an entry level job for 4x her salary. And with her years of experience, employers would give her a chance in a heartbeat,” Wizywig said.

“She went in and told them she was leaving if she wasn’t paid better. She tripled her pay overnight. It’s important to know your worth. I’m glad your dad had a very positive experience. However, this is a HUGE mistake on management’s part. If a huge operation collapses because one guy retires… then you have a big problem. What if your dad had an illness and suddenly had to leave and wasn’t available to help at all… what the hell would they do,” they added. Responding to the comment, u/Unconquered- wrote: “The craziest thing is that his company is owned by a billionaire. It’s not that they can’t afford better staff, they’ve just used him as their workhorse for so long that they’ve built an entire business strategy around him.”