Entitled coworker goes on sick leave for 4 weeks after overworked employee refuses to do her job for her: 'I just didn’t think it was fair to dump her work on me'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Apr 19, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

There is a difference between coworkers asking for some assistance from their fellow employees and coworkers who fully ask others to do their jobs for them. Sure, after someone has just started in a certain position, a little hand-holding is necessary as new hires get adjusted to the swing of things. 

This is often for the best of all parties involved, so that no major errors occur either. However, once that grace period has passed, independence is pretty necessary if you want the coworkers on your team to like you. The last thing you want is for them to have to endure your work tasks on top of theirs. It's not good for your reputation as a worker, and it's not good for their own presumably full plates. Let this story serve as further proof that asking your coworker to do too many tasks on your behalf will inevitably backfire. 

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  • 01
    "It seemed unfair that she was trying to offload her work onto me"
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • Lisa sounds like a real nuisance to have in the office. What kind of person tries to offload her responsibilities onto others, and when that doesn't work, they just stop showing up to work for four weeks. It's too coincidental for her sick leave to be legitimate. We can't help but feel sympathy for the author of this story, who started to receive shade from other coworkers for not helping Lisa in the first place… as if all of this is their fault!

  • 02

    "AITAH: My Coworker Went on Sick Leave for 4 Weeks After I Refused to Do a Task She Assigned Me"

    About a month ago, lets call her "Lisa" asked me to handle a task that, frankly, was outside my job description and directly part of her responsibilities. It wasn't a huge task, but it was time-
    via Keepitlocal90
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    consuming and with my, and I already had a packed schedule. Plus, it seemed unfair that she was trying to offload her work onto me especially since I don't get paid more for doing others work and with rising costs I have more on my plate.
    via Keepitlocal90
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    I politely but firmly told her, "Sorry, I can't take this on right now. Maybe we can talk to the manager about redistributing tasks if you're overwhelmed?" She just nodded, said, "Okay," and walked away.
    via Keepitlocal90
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    The next day, Lisa didn't come to work. I didn't think much of it at first, but then she called in sick for the rest of the week. Fast forward, and now it's been four weeks of her being on sick leave.
    via Keepitlocal90
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    I heard through the office grapevine that she told HR she's dealing with stress and anxiety because of "workplace tension and the rise in the cost of living here in South Africa".
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    This is where I start feeling guilty. Did my refusal to do the task trigger something for her? I genuinely didn't mean to upset her, I just didn't think it was fair to dump her work on me. But now
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    I'm wondering if I misread the situation. Maybe she was struggling more than I realized, and my response pushed her over the edge?
    via Keepitlocal90
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    Now, the workload is heavier for everyone because Lisa's tasks are being reassigned to the rest of us. Some coworkers have started making comments like,
    via Keepitlocal90
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    "Well, if someone had just helped Lisa out, maybe she wouldn't be gone for so long." I know they're not directly blaming me, but it still stings.
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    Cheezburger Image 10495315200
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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

  • 12
    Am I the ah le by feeling this way? Should I have just done the task to avoid this whole situation? Or is this something Lisa needs to take accountability for?
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    _I_like_big_mutts. Lisa should have discussed this with management. You are not at fault.
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    ElysiX "Well, if someone had just helped Lisa out, maybe she wouldn't be gone for so long." That sentiment is how you get exploited as employees.
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    That someone should be the company hiring more workers to distribute the load incase Lisa just has more work assigned than is reasonably handleable, or
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    firing Lisa and replacing her with someone better if she's just particularly bad at handling her job NTA
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    Specific-Chest-... This has nothing to do with you. Don't try to take accountability for everything. happened around you
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    SnooCupcakes7... You did nothing wrong. This girl was clearly at a brink of a burn out. That task was just another desperate attempt to stay above the water but what happened
    via Keepitlocal90
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    would have happened anyway. And you didn't know about her situation, you didn't knowingly not help her being overworked as it is.
    via Keepitlocal90
  • 20
    Don't worry, maybe send her a nice car and flowers, it would probably warm her heart to know that you're thinking about her.
    via Keepitlocal90

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Tags

terrible coworkers aita workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace AITAH work coworkers karen coworker toxic-work-environment
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