It’s no surprise that working parents have a lot to handle since finding the proper balance between meetings and field trips is a difficult undertaking. When childless coworkers are forced to pick up the slack, conflicts usually erupt. In this story, a 28-year-old childless lady recently mentioned how her coworker uses her children as an excuse to not work as hard as the rest. She resolved to speak up for herself after becoming sick and tired of this conduct. Scroll down to read the story and how would you react to such a situation?
Source: Reddit
I(28F) am single, don’t have kids and live alone. I also do not work OT or do anything beyond my work. Also I am not in the US.
First let me explain what my work is like: so we are an internal auditing company. I work in the logistics auditing division. What that means is that when a company hires us (mostly to see how good their policies are), we shadow their workers, to see where efficiency can be increased. Sometimes that means working night shift, delivery, warehouse, manufacturing…etc.
We are very lucky that we have an awesome manager and team leader. Once we divide the tasks, you can do them whenever as long as your report is handed when it should be. Work from home, from the office, at 3am, less than 40hrs… It doesn’t matter.
For the 6 years I have been on this team, another female coworker (30s) has been doing her absolute best to work the least amount possible. First she is either always pregnant and not “able” to shadow anyone but the office workers, she is on maternity leave (4 months), on her yearly vacation (a month), or conveniently sick when it is time for some heavy duty work (she sends in a doctor’s notice, and we have unlimited PTO as long as you have a doctor’s notice). And when she is in the office, she is dumping her work on others. She uses her kids as an excuse all the time.
Well usually the other team members pick up her slack, I refuse to do so.
This time we are auditing a larger company, so all hands on deck. And for the first time ever she is neither pregnant nor on maternity leave, and she just got back from her yearly leave.
The company we are auditing is in another city, so the members who will have to go will be staying there for 3 weeks. This time it is my turn to stay in the office (well my home TBH) and do the data organisation/analysis.
She asked me to switch with her, apparently she can’t leave her 5 kids alone with her husband. I said no. She tried to guilt trip me by saying that what she would have to pay for child care is more than what she would get paid for the whole month, and that I don’t have any responsibilities like her. I told her “well they are not my kids, so I don’t see how that is my problem”
Now she is pouting like a kid, and some coworkers are saying that I don’t know how hard working moms have it, that I should be more compassionate.
So Am I A Jerk? What Should I Do?
