Part time employee working from 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM refuses to come in early to help her coworkers: 'When I say early, I mean like 3 AM.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Apr 16, 2026 7:45 AM EDT

Why should she have to help everyone else get their work done?

There are some downsides to being an incredibly hardworking, competent employee. One downside is that you're often "rewarded" for your good work by being asked to do more work for the same amount of money. Sometimes, that's what striving employees want! They do as much work as possible to prove to their employer that they can handle the workload of a higher position. Deep down, they know they're kind of getting exploited, but they are willing to put up with that for a little while if it means securing the bag in the future. 

Not every employee is a striver, and that's okay! There is a lot of value in having some employees who are incredibly competent in their position, and don't have any real desire to climb the corporate ladder. They want to show up, do their work well, and go home without any pressure to be better than anyone else and their department, and that's great! If you can keep employees like that happy, you can keep them in their positions for years, offsetting the pesky costs of hiring new employees. 

While some unambitious employees are reliable and steadfast, others are kind of lazy and willing to do the bare minimum to avoid getting fired, but nothing more. The employee in this story has been doing the bare minimum at his job for years, and his bosses are finally onto him.

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  • A woman sitting at a table using a laptop computer
    via Wesley Tingey (Unsplash+)

    A young mom works at her part-time job while her kids are at school. 

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

  • Am I the bad guy for not going in early or staying late at my job to help my coworkers?

    AITAH for not going in early or staying late to help my coworkers? So I took this job as a part-time to make extra money while my kids were at school. I work a very strict 830 to 130 because that's the time that I need to drop off and then pick
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • up my children. it's an office job and I have my own sub department where I don't get any help from anyone else and the work is pretty easy so I usually get done early.
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • Now the issue is that because I'm young and a good worker a lot of the older people ask me for help. There is one older woman in particular who often asked for my help and finishing reports as she works two jobs and it's just too much for her and she doesn't get done in time. I don't mind
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • Woman works on a laptop at her office desk
    via Wright Building Center

    An older female employee works on a project after asking her younger colleague for assistance. 

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

  • helping and I've covered her vacations before however, I'm getting a little fed up because a lot of of the older women in the office have made snide remarks about me needing to work more to help the team. When I tell them that I only work part time for my children, they were
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • remarked that there are plenty of mothers here that sacrifice to provide for their family. I'm lucky enough to have a husband who makes enough that I don't have to do that. I also like to spend time with my children and have energy with them at the end of the day.
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • so there is a day last week in particular that a lot of people in the office were fr king out that something wasn't going to get done in time and they needed all hands on deck to come in early to help. When I say early, I mean like 3 AM. I respectfully declined
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • and I am now receiving a lot of hostility. I'm trying to take a lightheartedly and continue about my job, but the side eyes and snide remarks are really getting on my nerves.
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • A group of unsuccessful business people working at a badly managed company
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Lazy employees look upon their hardworking coworker with disgust after she refuses to work more than part-time hours.  

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

  • For reference, I still came in early about 530 or so. If I had to come in at three with the others, I wouldn't have been able to help regardless because the part they needed my help with wouldn't have even been ready. I've brought that up, but
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • they said it would've been a sign of solidarity with the team as some people I guess didn't even get to sleep because of second jobs. So AITAH?
    via u/Ruthsayless
  • Sea_Roof3637 3am is ridiculous. That's 5 hours early, essentially a double shift. Nope. You turn up, do your work and go home. NTA
    via u/Sea_Roof3637
  • Ineedavodka2019 For an office job. Absolutely not.
    via u/Ineedavodka2019
  • letstrythisagain30 A job for a company that seems understaffed or mismanaged enough for workers regularly asking others for help finishing the work assigned to them... or the are sh employees.
    via u/letstrythisagain30
  • DonkeyJousting "There are plenty of mothers here that sacrifice to provide for their family." There are plenty of mothers that don't work at all. There are plenty of mothers that send their children to boarding schools. Some mothers have gone to space. Some animal mothers eat their young. We've got a wide range of theoretically possible mothering behaviour here, Brenda. But I am going home when my shift is over so s ↓. NTA.
    via u/DonkeyJousting
  • Stradivesuvius They're being silly and you should tell your manager/HR. They have no right to take out their frustrations on you. You work specific hours and that's that.
    via u/Stradivesuvius
  • mco_coffey They're expecting you to work full time when you're contracted as part time. They're the AH.
    via u/mco_coffey
  • Friendly_Order3729 NTA- this has nothing to do with you being a parent and everything to do with the fact that they're the working hours you have agreed to. I have no kids, work 9-5. When 5 hits I leave. I will stay in very extreme situations but that's maybe once a year. If the work isn't getting done they need to look at who isn't doing their job. Either the other staff are slacking. Management aren't assigning jobs properly or the company hasn't got a proper planning manager to plan how many
    via u/Friendly_Order3729
  • Shane-Dad-underfire I'm 78 and I've always done my own work, it's my pride and joy to have been able to do my work well for decades. I never minded helping others in the proper setting but my philosophy for work is that everyone does their own work. If they cant manage to do their own work then they either dont deserve the job or the company needs to hire additional employees. Their jobs arent your problem so they can go fly kites. Dont let others push their jobs on you. Your co workers stop bei
    via u/Shane-Dad-underfire
  • Decent-Historian-207 NTA but you need to speak to your manager.
    via u/Decent-Historian-207

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schedule school employee part time coworkers Office early young mom entitled people
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