City records worker denied a promotion for making her job look “too easy” is left watching the rookie she trained get the pay raise and desk upgrade: ‘I’m not quitting. I’m just here. Clocking in. Doing exactly what's asked. No more, no less’

There's a special place in bureaucratic purgatory for workers who dare to be both competent and efficient. Our city records office hero has spent nearly four years navigating the nonsense maze of local government databases, deciphering ancient permit codes, and single-handedly keeping the whole system from collapsing under its own mediocrity. She has more institutional knowledge than the city archive itself, yet the only thing management notices is how inconvenient it would be to lose someone who "makes it look too easy."

The promotion carrot dangles: a shred more pay, fewer frantic walk-ins, and the supreme glory of a slightly better-positioned chair. She interviews, she nails it, and then,  plot twist.

They explain she's too good at her current job to be allowed to leave it. Apparently, if you achieve professional competence in the public sector, you're not rewarded, you're held captive. The position goes to the rookie, whose principal skill is asking our shooting star for help twice a day. The message is clear: if you want to advance, never solve a problem too quickly, and for the love of God, avoid being indispensable.