26-year-old refuses to help 19-year-old best friend with her online side hustle after being treated like a full-time employee with no payment: "She sends me daily to-do lists"

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    AITA for refusing to keep helping my friend with her side hustle after she started treating me like an unpaid employee?

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    I (28F) have a friend, Chloe (29F), who started an online jewelry business a few months ago. She asked me to help out here and there with packaging and social media stuff, saying it'd be chill and fun. I
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    agreed 'cause I wanted to support her. At first, it was super low-key, like an hour or two a week. But over the last couple of months, it's gotten way out of hand. She sends me daily to-do lists, expects me to drop everything for her biz, and gets mad if I don't put her stuff before my actual job.
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    She's even started calling me her "social media assistant" to our friends, even though I'm not paid at all. Last week, she told me I had to spend my entire Saturday helping her prep for a craft fair, saying, "You owe me this, you're part of the team!"
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    I told her nicely that I love supporting her, but I'm not her employee and my time is valuable. I said I couldn't keep helping if it's not casual and if there's
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    no pay for all the extra work. Chloe flipped out and called me selfish, saying I was "abandoning" her and not a real friend. Now she's telling our friends I'm the bad guy for not helping her "dream" come true. AITA for setting a boundary and refusing to do unpaid work?
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    Quirky-Ad1813 NTA You agreed to casually help a friend with her side hustle and she slowly morphed that into a full-blown job without pay or boundaries. That's not support,
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    that's exploitation. The second she started sending you daily to-do lists and calling you her "assistant," she crossed the line from "chill and fun" to "I'm taking advantage of your time and energy."
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    You're not abandoning her dream, you're just not letting her live it on your back for free. Wanting to be compensated or at least respected for your time is not selfish, it's basic. Her guilt-tripping and turning your mutual friends against you is manipulative, not passionate.
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    If she wants a team, she can hire one. You're not the villain for not being her unpaid intern. You're just someone who knows your worth.
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    RavenFeather98 OP You said it perfectly. It really was starting to feel like a job, not a favor.
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    giantbrownguy NTA. You need to counter her narrative and tell your friends that she is treating you like an employee with no pay and damaging your personal life. Shut this down hard. She is acting with blinders on and using your generosity to further her business.
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    RavenFeather98 OP Absolutely! I'm def gonna tell them the full story so they see what's really going on.
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    squirrelsareevil2479 Also tell them that they are free to volunteer their time to help her out if they give you a bad time. Ask how many will give up a full weekend day to assist her.
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    Obiterdicta ΝΤΑ She's a bad friend for expecting so much of you without compensation. At the same time, a good friend is willing to call you out if you're behaving poorly.
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    Don't let her pressure you into backing down. Your time is valuable too.
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    RavenFeather98 OP Yeah, that's exactly how I feel. I wanna support her but not at the cost of my own time and sanity!
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    PatienceNotMyVirtue1 Let all those other friends help her. If you're friends is smart, she'll impose just a little bit on everyone so it is a big burden on no one. But I bet she won't do this because it's too much effort on her part to bring purple up to speed.
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    You've done your part. Step aside so other friends have an opportunity to show their support.
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    Initial_Potato 5023 NTA she is. It is her business not yours and you have a life of your own. She is beyond ridiculous expecting you to be a FREE forever servant
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    RavenFeather98 OP Yeah, she's acting like it's my job, not hers! I'm glad you see it too.
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    Blond Dee1970 NTA and your friend is taking advantage of you. I can't imagine other friends taking her side when it's clearly only benefiting her and you're getting nothing out of this at all.
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    _BubblegumBabe_ her trash-talking to friends just proves she's the selfish one. real friends don't guilt-trip you into being their unpaid intern-they pay you or respect your "no." she is ah, not you ofc.
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    RavenFeather98 OP So true! I'm done being her free help just so she can keep her "dream" going at my expense.
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    Candid Deer_8521 Nta. If any of your friends have a problem with it then they can step up to help her.

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