Childfree Woman Wonders If She’s A Jerk For Refusing To Do The Late Shift As A Favor To One Of Her Parent Coworkers Because She Also Has Plans

A simple favor at work turned into a small office standoff for one childfree woman. She was asked to cover a late shift so a parent coworker could make it to her kid’s soccer game, but she already had plans of her own.

The woman said no because she had a volleyball match that same night, and she felt her personal time mattered just as much as anyone else’s. That did not go over well with the coworker, who accused her of being unfair and disrespectful.

Now the internet is weighing in on whether she was wrong to hold her ground. Read on.

A woman turns to the AITA subreddit for advice. She wants to know if she was wrong for declining to cover for her colleague so she could go to her kid’s soccer game

Maxpixel (not the actual photo)

OP shares her story

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She had a conflict with a coworker about covering the late shift.

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Her coworker felt that she had more rights because she is a mother.

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And that her kids' game is more important than OP's volleyball game

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Since OP had covered the last two late shifts, she declined

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OP believes it is important to support working mothers, but not when it causes significant inconvenience for others

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OP does her part in helping them

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OP also explains her reasons

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OP talked to a friend who said she was wrong

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OP explained that parenting stress is one of the reasons she decided not to have kids.

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Parents don't seem to understand OP's point of view

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This post has amassed more than 17K upvotes and over 2.2K comments. The vast majority of Redditors sided with the author, concluding that she was in no way acting like a jerk in this situation. 

This reminds us of the dad stuck choosing between his daughters piano recital and sons baseball game, Balancing Kids Activities: Choosing Between Daughters Piano Recital and Sons Baseball Game.

That response set the tone for the rest of the thread.

Redditors mostly agreed with OP

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OP already worked two previous late shifts...

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Not a "get out of crummy work free card"

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OP shouldn't have to explain her reasons

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Simple No

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Hobby vs. hobby

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Working late should be a shared chore

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We all have problems

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And pulling a "mum card" is not okay

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No.

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The bottom line is:

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Parenting is tough, and there are many difficult choices and sacrifices to make along the way. We all do the best we can, but sometimes we can’t make it to all events and games.

Sure, it is an awful feeling, but parents should also help their kids understand that sometimes, they just can’t make it. They have jobs and must be responsible, just as they expect their children to be when they grow up.

Not every favor can be a free pass.

Want another AITA clash over schedules, read what happened when she skipped her mother-in-law’s reunion for work: Choosing Work Over Family: AITA for Skipping Mother-in-Laws Reunion?.