Pregnant Coworker’s Leave Pushes Woman To Refuse Extra Work With No Extra Pay, Earning Her Office Villain Label

A frazzled office worker, blindsided by a pregnant coworker’s plea to shoulder her tasks, stands firm against a tidal wave of unpaid extra work. At 30, she’s juggling her own desk chaos when HR drops a bombshell: cover for Liddy, 28, who’s battling brutal morning sickness and planning a month’s unpaid leave. Refusing to double her load for zero extra pay, she causes workplace drama, with Liddy rallying colleagues to brand her the villain.

Reddit’s buzzing with this office showdown, torn between loyalty to a coworker’s struggle and the audacity of unpaid overtime. The story leaves readers wondering: who’s really at fault here?

A worker refuses to take on a pregnant coworker’s tasks, causing office tension.

Talk about a workplace plot twist! This Redditor’s refusal to play superhero for Liddy’s workload is a masterclass in setting boundaries, but it’s kicked up a storm.

Liddy, grappling with morning sickness, isn’t wrong to need time off. Pregnancy’s no picnic, especially with hyperemesis potentially in play. But tossing her workload onto a coworker without consent? That’s where the script flips.

HR’s the real puppet master here, shirking their duty to arrange cover and leaving two women to duke it out.

The Redditor’s stance is rock-solid: why double your grind for the same paycheck? It’s not about lacking empathy. Nobody’s denying Liddy’s struggle, but expecting a colleague to absorb a month’s worth of tasks for free is a stretch.

Liddy’s assistant, already on the payroll, was the logical choice, yet HR and Liddy tried to guilt-trip the Redditor into compliance. Her suggestion to supervise the assistant instead? A practical compromise that screams, “I’m not heartless, just not a doormat.”

Liddy’s reaction, though, is where she fumbles. Badmouthing a coworker for refusing unpaid labor is less “team player” and more “mean girl.”

Pregnancy hormones might explain the edge, but rallying colleagues to shame the Redditor is unprofessional, no doubt. Both women are caught in a system where HR’s laziness pits employees against each other, like gladiators fighting over scraps while management sips coffee.

The bigger picture: this mess exposes a workplace failing its staff. Companies should have contingency plans for leave, not leave employees to beg favors.

The Redditor’s not the villain for protecting her sanity, but Liddy’s not evil either. She’s desperate in a flawed system. A little empathy could’ve gone a long way, but so could HR doing their job.

This saga’s a wake-up call: boundaries matter, but so does workplace fairness. The Redditor’s choice to say “no” isn’t cold, it’s a stand for equity.

If everyone’s expected to pick up slack for free, where’s the line? So next time, HR needs to step up, not stir the pot.

Here’s the comments of Reddit users:

Some say OP was right to refuse extra work without extra pay.

Others criticize HR for shifting responsibility and Liddy for badmouthing OP.

Some see fault on both sides but blame the company for creating the conflict.

Navigating this workplace drama requires cooler heads than a reality TV finale.

The Redditor could offer Liddy a sympathetic ear, maybe a “hope you feel better” coffee chat, while holding firm on not taking her work.

HR needs a wake-up call to arrange proper coverage, perhaps by hiring a temp or redistributing tasks fairly.

For Liddy, leaning on her assistant and keeping things professional avoids burning bridges.

Reflecting on this, it’s like watching two coworkers trip over the same corporate hurdle, each blaming the other instead of the broken system.

Was the Redditor right to dodge the extra work, or should she have pitched in for team spirit? How would you handle being roped into unpaid overtime? Drop your hot takes!