'Do not work for free': Employee pressured by Karen coworker to come in early for unpaid work, employee refuses

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Aug 24, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

Sometimes doing what's convenient for a coworker is not necessarily what's fair to you. It's time to stop adjusting your needs to the needs of folks around you, especially when you gain nothing from adjusting said needs. This employee was recently encouraged by her boss in a team meeting to show up five to ten minutes early to shifts so that the handoffs from one coworker to the next would be smooth and easy. 

 

Luckily, this change didn't affect the employee's schedule very much, so it was an easy adjustment to make. However, her coworker (a classic Karen) seemed to feel that five to ten minutes were not enough. She gave the employee a dirty look throughout the meeting and then pulled her aside later to accuse her of not taking their boss's direction seriously. This Karen has some audacity in doing this considering she is not the employee's superior and the employee was, in fact, following the new guidelines. Something tells us that Karen has a completely arbitrary process and doesn't like that the employee isn't willing to bend backward for said arbitrary process. 

 

The employee shared her side of the story via this thread on Reddit, and some folks in the comments section seemed to suggest that even coming in five to ten minutes for free was asking far too much. That free labor adds up! Keep scrolling below for the full story, and when you're finished, feel free to check out this post about an employee who was wrongly accused of being the "Queen of Tardiness."

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  • 01
    Font - 11000E "My coworker kept looking at me in a disgusting way" 7888 CH 8.20
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  • 02
    Font - My coworker is pressuring me to start 30+ minutes before my actual start time I work in hospitality, specifically hotel hospitality and we recently had a meeting regarding "handovers" and how we should show up a little early to ensure that we can get up to speed before our shift starts and the other staff can depart from their shift on time. Don't get me wrong, great idea and my manager specifically said it should only be 5-10 minutes which im more than happy to do.
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  • 03
    Font - However, a couple of days after that meeting. My coworker kept looking at me in a disgusting way, which i ignored. This went on for a few more days before she eventually took me into one of our vacant meeting rooms and said "Me and (the manager) are upset that you are not committed to the handover schedule we set in last weeks meeting.." and begins bereding me for not showing up "At least 30-45 minutes before shift". For those who have worked in Hotel hospitality before, you know that eve
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  • 04
    Font - There isnt 30-45 minutes of stuff to catch up on. I explained this to her and how in the meeting the manager even said 5-10 mins was more than enough. She then got angry and frustrated and exclaimed "I will be reporting this to (the manager)".
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  • 05
    Font - Basically saying that my manager wasn't upset with me, she was just saying it to make me feel more pressured. I'm really unsure what to do now. Luckily i have a few days off to think and ask you guys. But i really am unsure what my next action should be.
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  • 06
    Font - okayyeahnah. 15 hr. ago Unless they want to pay you for that time it doesn't belong to them. Put this in writing to your manager and get confirmation in writing about the start and handover time. 5.5k Reply Share
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  • 07
    Font - XR171 15 hr. ago Pooping on company t... Also document what your co-worker said. What's best is doing it in writing to your manager. Something like "Per Karen I should be showing up unpaid 30-45 inutes early for handover. You stated this should only take 5-10 minutes which I repeated to Karen who then said she would report me to you. For the sake of clarification how long should handover take?" 2.9k Reply Share
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  • 08
    Font - Washington_Dad__ . 15 hr. ago Don't start one minute sooner than they are willing to pay you. If you get it in writing that they want you to start working 10 minutes before shift make sure you track all that extra time on your end since they would legally owe you money for that time. 1.1k Reply Share
    via u/Any-Cartographer-675
  • 09
    Font - Any-Cartographer-675 OP 15 hr. ago Is this legally viable in the UK? I know the US and UK have different employment laws etc. If that is the case i will just keep track of the 5-10 mins ive already taken then draft them to my manager at the end of every month/when i leave 288 Reply Share
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  • 10
    Gesture - EverybodysMeemaw. 15 hr. ago Do not work for free. 488 Reply Share
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  • 11
    Font - nabulsha 14 hr. ago SocDem This is thevonly answer, even 5 to 10 minutes every day equals hundreds over a year easily. 4 119 Reply Share
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  • 12
    Font - gingergal3 15 hr. ago . First, confirm that your manager said what she claims the manager said. Don't let your coworker pretend to be an intermediary. Go right to the source. Second, get the policy in writing from the manager. 274 Reply Share
    via u/Any-Cartographer-675
  • 13
    Font - Anastariana 14 hr. ago . Sounds like she wants to slack off and leave 1/2 an hour earlier and make you do her job. Check with your manager, then tell her to piss off. 191 Reply Share
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  • 14
    Font - PistolPetunia 14 hr. ago "Last time I checked, You do not sign my paychecks. If BOSS wants me to come in that early, she can tell me, and compensate me for my time. You can work for free if you want to, but I do not. Oh, and we will not keep having this discussion." 104 Reply Share
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  • 15
    Font - bloodycpownsuit 14 hr. ago If she's so adamant about a handover she can stay 30 minutes late. 80 Reply Share
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  • 16
    Smile - CAHTA92 15 hr. ago That's like 40 hours of free labour a year. He'll no, get paid or don't do it. 83 Reply Share
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  • 17
    Font - docsuess84 14 hr. ago My family business solved this problem by overlapping the day, swing, and graveyard schedules by 30 minutes. Yeah, there's way too many people for a brief chunk of time 3 times per day, but nobody works for free either and the hand off is clean every time. This isn't a hard problem to solve. 36 Reply Share
    via u/Any-Cartographer-675

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terrible coworkers workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace job work coworkers toxic-boss Horrible Bosses reddit thread Reddit toxic-work-environment
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