Should I Expect My Coworker to Cover My Pregnancy Shifts After Fallout? AITA?

A 28-year-old woman thought her coworker, Alex, would be able to set aside old drama for a very real reason: pregnancy morning sickness and a brutal workload. Instead, the request for shift coverage turned into a second round of tension, because the two of them are still stuck on a project fallout that happened a month ago.

Here’s the messy part, OP says Alex undermined her work back then, and the tension never fully died. Now OP is struggling to keep up with upcoming shifts, so she asks Alex to cover some of them. Alex refuses, pointing to their own workload and bringing up the past conflict like it’s still active on the calendar.

OP wants pregnancy to count as a separate issue, but Alex clearly doesn’t see it that way, and that’s where this whole thing goes sideways.

Original Post

I (28F) work in a high-pressure environment. Quick context: I had a falling out with my coworker, Alex, a month ago over a project where I felt they undermined my efforts.

It led to tension between us. Now, I'm in the early stages of pregnancy and facing morning sickness, making it challenging to meet my work demands.

With the workload piling up and my health deteriorating, I asked Alex to cover some of my upcoming shifts to help out. They were taken aback, citing our past project conflict and how they're already swamped with tasks.

However, I feel like this is a separate issue and my pregnancy should be prioritized. Alex refused, stating that their workload is equally demanding, and they can't take on more responsibilities.

This left me feeling frustrated and unsupported, given our history. I understand we had issues, but I hoped they would set those aside considering my current situation.

So, AITA for expecting Alex to cover my shifts, despite our strained relationship and their own workload pressures?

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This is similar to when a coworker disagreement left a pregnant employee debating whether to ask for shift coverage.

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The second OP mentioned morning sickness and a pile of upcoming shifts, Alex’s “we already fought” excuse immediately became the main character.

After OP asked for coverage and Alex said no because they’re “already swamped,” the old project conflict stopped being background noise and turned into a full stop.

OP feels like pregnancy should override the past, but Alex insists their workload is just as demanding, and that clash is the real breaking point.

With Alex refusing to cover anything and OP left unsupported, the question becomes whether this is “work tension” or just plain refusing to be decent.

What would you do in this situation? Share your opinion in the comments.

OP might be pregnant, but Alex is still holding a grudge, and nobody wins when the schedule becomes the battlefield.

Read how the coworker fallout turned into a pregnancy shift showdown in this AITA about asking Alex to cover shifts.