Nurse refuses to cover unreliable coworker's shift because she won't cover their Valentine's Day shift in return, coworker is fired as a result: ‘I said no chance’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Feb 15, 2025 7:00 PM EST

Valentine's Day is the day of love… so you better make sure you don't have a shift to work before making plans. Nobody wants to work on a day dedicated to love if they can help it, but work doesn't stop for anyone. Some folks might decide to not show up for their shifts at all or try to burden others with their special plans that they "can't miss," but this is your PSA: Your coworker's job is not your problem. If they try to guilt-trip you into taking their shift, remember that they probably wouldn't do the same for you, unfortunately.

In this story, a nurse explains that their coworker is very unreliable and calls out frequently. This coworker needed someone to pick up her shift last minute, so the nurse told her that they'd pick up her shift if she could cover theirs on Valentine's Day. This coworker refused to do so, claiming that she had really important plans with her husband on V-Day… If that's the case, then find other coverage. Scroll below to see what comes of this coworker's fate.

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  • To be clear, the nurse who wrote this story did not seem very salty about not being able to get coverage for Valentine's Day. It was more of an “I scratch your back, you scratch mine” deal that they were searching for, but this coworker failed to deliver. So be it, but this coworker has called out once a month for the last three months, and this will no longer be the nurse's problem. 

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    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "AITAH for not covering for my coworker with a sick kid, resulting in her being fired"

    Hi Reddit. Some background info. 1 25f, work as a hospice nurse for a home hospice company. All of the nurses are salaried, and we make our own hours for the most part. This is
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  • a desirable job for nurses wanting to get out of working 12 hour shifts at hospitals. It's very desirable for parents especially.
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  • We all have to take turns being on call overnight, roughly once every two weeks. This is mandatory. All of my coworkers have kids pretty much. Everyone except me. In
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  • the three years that I have been here I have asked my coworkers for virtually nothing. I never really get sick, and I handle my stuff. I have never called out of an on call shift.
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  • My boss has a three strikes rule, where if you have to call out of your on call shift three times within a year you get fired. No exceptions. If
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  • you trade your on call shift however it doesn't count against you, it only counts against you if our boss has to mandate someone into covering
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  • the shift. I have watched my boss fire several people over this in the few years that I have worked here. We got a new coworker, let's say Mandy, about four months ago. She has
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  • called out of her on call shift twice so far, so not a good track record. Apparently her husband is active duty and deploys. a lot, and she has four kids and struggles to find a babysitter for them.
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  • This past Monday was Mandy's on call again. She sent out an email begging for someone to take it, because her babysitter got sick. I offered to trade her, if she works Valentine's Day
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  • for me. Win win right? I get Valentine's Day off, and can go on a date. And Mandy gets her shift covered and doesn't get fired.
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    via Kateryna Hliznitsova For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Mandy said her husband comes back on Thursday, and they wanted to go out for Valentine's Day. Apparently their marriage was heading towards divorce, and they really
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  • needed this night. She asked me if she could just work a day for me next month instead. I said no chance. She tried guilting me and shaming me, so eventually I just said f
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  • it, you're on your own. She tried to backpedal, but I said no. She pleaded with both me and our boss, but Mandy got fired.
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  • I can tell my boss and some of our coworkers think I'm an a h le, since I had the free time to cover her shift, and I don't have kids or anything. AITAH?
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  • Sufficient-Lie1406 She could have had her Valentine's on Saturday. A simple one day shift and she could have made the deal with you and kept her job. NTA, and making the choice to have kids means the responsibility to take care of those kids... it is never someone else's problem.
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  • dplafoll NTA. You DID offer to cover her shift, and she refused the entirely- reasonable compromise that you offered in exchange. All those coworkers could've covered it, and your boss is blaming you for the boss enforcing their own policy on someone who absolutely violated that policy. Nobody here is right except you OP. Her emergencies are not yours.
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  • Tipsy-boo NTA The coworkers that think you're an a ole- could have covered her.
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  • kikivee612 You made a very fair offer to her. Here's the thing though... she's been there 4 months and already skipped her on call shift twice. It was just a matter of time before she got to the 3rd one.
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  • tempdump9 NTA - Valentine's day will not save that marriage, and you're not responsible for her prioritizing a failing marriage over her career.
    via tempdump9

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terrible coworkers valentines getting fired workplace-stories fired fired story work coworkers askreddit reddit story valentine entitled people karma workplace entitled reddit thread coworker entitled people Valentines day
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