Workplaces today often expect employees to handle extra duties or late hours without offering anything in return, and many people are beginning to question whether that’s fair. Conversations about respect, compensation, and healthy limits are becoming more common. Recently, a reader wrote to Bright Side to share her own experience dealing with this kind of situation.

I got a job promotion to “team leader” after 9 years, right when a huge new project arrived that required extra hours and night shifts.I politely refused the promotion. It is extra work, no extra pay. Only more prestige.HR said, “Escaping from responsibilities is weak and unprofessional!”I smiled. What no one knows is that all this time a competitive firm had been interested in hiring me, but I never took the step to leave because I had been loyal to this company for 9 years.So, the next day, everyone froze when they walked in and found my desk empty. I told HR that if, after 9 years of dedication, they think I’m “unprofessional,” then I’m resigning at the moment they need me most.