[popinman322]

I'm generalizing my own experience here, but I imagine it typically takes time for people to reach the conclusion that they want to leave. What if they enjoy some of those "un-fun" tasks? Or maybe they take pride in their work? Or maybe they just like writing code? Or maybe they enjoy working with their coworkers?

I think maybe his manager misplayed and could have approached this from a different perspective. "Ah, I have someone who I can keep at the same pay who is willing to work for the hell of it." Or something like that. Definitely feels like that's the kind of thing you could negotiate with an employee who's joining just for the work and not for the money.