Coworker demands employee keep bringing her lunch to the office after they agreed once, employee refuses when it becomes a daily errand: ‘She's an adult who can get her own lunch’

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 8, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

Have you agreed to a favor, only to find yourself stuck in a loop of doing it over and over again for the same person?

My sister, for example, asked me once to go pick up a package from a clothing store, because I live near by it and it's easier for me to drop by there and pick it up. I agreed, once, wanting to help her out, and since then, I have picked up at least a dozen other packages for her, all on different occasions.

Now, while I love my sister and enjoy helping her out, I am not her delivery person, and at some point, it stopped feeling like I was doing her a favor and became a weekly errand that I didn't know how to stop. And the most annoying part was, I knew that if it were the other way around, she would have no problem telling me she can't do it. Me, on the other hand? I was simply too nice to set any boundaries.

I wish I could say that I stood up for myself and told her it was becoming too much, but the reality was that I eventually moved, and the clothing store she liked ordering from was no longer close to where I lived. It became unreasonable to ask me to pick it up, and she caved and started paying for delivery. I am still slightly disappointed with myself that I never told her how I really feel about all her "favor" requests.

At least the employee in the story below decided to stand up for themselves and tell their coworker that her demands are crossing a line. After agreeing to pick up her lunch one time, it became a daily occurrence. Even on days that the employee didn't have any reason to leave the office, they still spent their lunch time picking up an order for someone else. 

One day, they decided it was time to put a stop to it all.

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  • 01
    Smiling coworker eating her lunch.
    via Getty Images

    Smiling coworker eating her lunch.

    Subject is a model.

  • 02

    AITA for not helping my coworker get lunch even if i have been helping her do that for over a month.

    I'm 25F and work in a small office with few coworkers, most of us bring lunch or order something nearby.
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 03
    About a month ago, one of my colleagues asked if I could pick up lunch for her because I was already going out. It wasn't a big deal, so I said yes.
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 04
    it slowly became a daily thing. She messages me every morning asking if I was going out and then send me her order. She always paid
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 05
    me back, so money wasn't the issue. I just started feeling like it wasn't really a favor anymore it had become an expectation. There were
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 06
    even days where I wasn't planning to leave the office until she asked, and I'd end up going anyway because I felt bad saying no.
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 07
    This week I decided I wanted to spend my lunch break relaxing instead of running errands. When she asked if I could get her lunch again, I
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 08
    told her I was not going out and that she should figure something else out. She looked annoyed and said something like, You have been doing it every day, so I
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 09
    thought it would not be a problem. I apologized but said I just don't want to spend my break doing that anymore.
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 10
    Employees eating lunch in the break room.
    via Redd Francisco

    Employees eating lunch in the break room.

    Subjects are models.

  • 11
    She ended up ordering her lunch, but later I overheard her telling another coworker that I was being selfish because I knew she had gotten used to relying on me.
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 12
    Another coworker told me I probably should have given her a heads up instead of stopping out of nowhere since I have been helping for so long. Others have said I
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 13
    was not obligated to keep doing it and that she is an adult who can get her own lunch.
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 14
    Now I'm wondering if I handled it poorly. I don't mind helping someone once in a while, but I also don't want to feel responsible for
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 15
    another person lunch every workday just because I agreed to help at the beginning. AITA?
    via Wonderful_Pea_7007
  • 16
    geekily_me NTA. It sounds like your coworker would be upset no matter how much of a heads up you gave her. Her words
    via geekily_me
  • 17
    mean she KNOWS it was no longer a favor, and she doesn't care about using you and your time for her own benefit. ignore her.
    via geekily_me
  • 18
    Exotic_Box5030 NTA it was very selfish on her part to not offer to do it for you.
    via Exotic_Box5030
  • 19
    Designer Thought2907 Her reliance on you isn't your problem. She can grow up and get her own lunch
    via Designer Thought2907

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lunch break employee job work coworkers lunch Office food
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