Employee refuses to give coworker back her old office after she comes back from maternity leave: 'I enjoy actually having a nice window to look out'

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Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Nov 9, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Clocking in day after day to sit at a cubicle sounds like a nightmare, and it is the reality for many of us who work in the corporate world. There just isn't a way to make sitting in these little boxes any more appealing, no matter how many photos of your family you print out at Walgreens or how many cute decorations you buy at Miniso. If you're actually luck enough to land your very own private office, it probably feels a bit like winning the corporate lottery.

One employee actually managed to get this upgrade after a coworker went on maternity leave. However, she got a bit too cozy. Now the coworker is back from WFH exile and is expecting to reclaim her throne. Management and HR agree that it's best to leave our narrator in the office, but her coworkers have very strong opinions and have labeled her the office villain for claiming the territory of a new mother. 

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  • 01

    AITA for refusing to give my coworker their office back now that WFH has been canceled?

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    via pixelshot

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Back in 2023, a woman (Jenn) in my building left for maternity leave. After having her child, Jenn took advantage of our
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    company's WFH program, which left her office open. I placed in a request for the space with my
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    manager was was given the go, so I got to leave my c cubicle for my very own private office.
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    via charliepix from charliepix

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 06
    My employer has announced that WFH will end on 11/17/25. All employees are to be back in the office by that date. Yeah, that
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    sucks, I know. Yesterday, WFH employees came in for tours and desk assignments. When Jenn saw I was in her office, she
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    became agitated and asked if I'd be leaving so she could take back over. I told her flatly that I had no intent to give up the office.
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    via freedomz

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    Jenn spoke with a manager about this and management's immediate decision was that I was under no obligation to move
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    out of the office. I was approached and asked if I had any interest in returning to a
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    cubicle, I said no, and there was no follow up from my manager or HR as they both see the matter as closed.
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    Now, just a day later, I'm getting a stink from coworkers who think I'm punishing Jenn for something
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    outside her control. Jenn has also emailed me, asking me to consider the position she's in and that she's already being
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    punished by the company by being compelled to return to the building, and asking me to consider her feelings. Sincerely, I
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    definitely understand how much this sucks for her and everyone else being forced to come back,
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    but I like having my own office. I have a lot of stuff in here that I'd otherwise have to carry back home. I'd be giving up the
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    privacy that I've become adjusted to, and, if I'm being honest, I enjoy actually having a nice window to look out and none of the noise of the cubicles.
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    via mphillips007 from Getty Images Signature

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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    EDIT: So something someone (a few people really) brought up that I hadn't considered was the question of if I vacated the office, would that necessarily mean Jenn could have it back. On
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    Monday, my manager had approached me about returning to a cubicle to verify my lack of interest, but this morning I checked with HR on the policy.
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    Sure enough, you cannot simply choose someone to give your office to as office assignments are selected by policy. The office would go into the pool if I vacated, which means Jenn
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    would be competing with everyone else over it. Several of the WFH people who have returned are more senior than
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    her, and at least one of them is definitely interested in the next bidding that comes up, so Jenn would be out of luck. HR is going to circulate a reminder on the office bidding policies.
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    I also brought up the email with my manager who stated she will reply to it and cc in Jenn's manager to ensure there is an understanding that this matter should be considered closed.
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Tags

terrible coworkers maternity leave pregnancy employee Professional At Work work coworkers relationships Office workplace entitled pregnant girlboss entitled people
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