Cook gets even with petty coworker by planting kitchen messes and refusing to take on her work: '[It's] the radical act of not doing her job for her'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
May 21, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Everyone has had to clean up someone else's mess at some point in their lives. This could look like a parent cleaning up after their child when they are too young to take care of themselves. However, you would think that once we are all old enough to clean up our own messes, we would unburden the people in our lives of having to look after us in this way. Unfortunately, entitlement can get in the way of this kind of maturity.

When we're in school, there's always that student who seems to still operate under the assumption that someone will do all the work for them, be it their teacher, their parents, or their classmates. When we share space with our roommates and partners, there's always that person who seems to think their dishes will somehow clean themselves. Finally, as this tale of entitlement certainly demonstrates, there are even coworkers in the workplace who somehow think it's someone's responsibility to do their work for them. Keep scrolling below to see how this chef sabotages their coworker in the kitchen!

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    Cheezburger Image 10507709440
    via Unsplash+ (A.C.)

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

  • It's amusing what the careful placement of a glass of water can do to cause a mess. It's even more amusing to see what happens when you stop going out of your way to help the people who would never return the favor. That's exactly what this cook learned when they sought some simple yet effective petty revenge on their entitled coworker!

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    I work as a cook in a long-term care facility, where the job is already mentally and physically draining. We're constantly on our feet,
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    understaffed, and expected to perform without breaks. It's exhausting on a good day -and yesterday was not a good day.
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    I went into work feeling like d h-sick, drained, and absolutely over it. And of course, today's the day my coworker decided to try me.
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    But I didn't argue. Didn't snap. I just shifted gears and got quiet. Calculated. Surgical.
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    I placed a full glass of water right in the center of the dish cart, camouflaged among the others. Not on the edge-
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    no, that would be too obvious. Just there, waiting. When she went to grab the stack to wash them, she bumped it. Water everywhere. Right on her.
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    Poor choice on her part, really. I didn't raise my voice. I didn't argue. I simply recalibrated. Matched her energy—but refined it. Focused it. Weaponized it.
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    There was the bowl of oatmeal I "forgot" to dump, tucked neatly between the other empty bowls. She grabbed it without looking and― boom. Shattered.
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    Oatmeal and ceramic all over the floor. But she breaks dishes so often no one even questioned it.
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    Cheezburger Image 10507709696
    via Unsplash+ (A.C.)

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

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    And the cherry on top? I didn't pick up her slack like I usually do. Every task I normally cover to keep things running smoothly? I left it. She
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    had to stay over an hour late scrambling to catch up while I clocked out on time, smiling.
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    No confrontation. No evidence. Just a series of inconvenient events she couldn't pin on anyone but herself.
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    She wanted to be petty? I gave her precision sabotage-quiet, clean, and completely deniable.
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    Sometimes revenge is a glass of water and a bowl of oatmeal.
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    TL;DR: Sick and exhausted cook in a long- term care facility gets sweet, subtle revenge on her petty coworker using a well-placed glass of water, a hidden bowl of
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    oatmeal, and the radical act of not doing her job for her. She stayed an hour late. I left on time. Life is good.
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    Edit: Forgot to mention-I also sent myself flowers at work. Just for the added touch of confusion and envy. Watched her spiral trying to figure out
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    who sent them. The card said "Love you, beautiful." I smiled all day. Still no suspects.
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Tags

terrible coworkers workplace-stories work stories toxic-workplace cooking job work petty revenge chef kitchen toxic-work-environment
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