Supervisor discovers friend secretly hired a freelancer to do her job and gave them access to confidential company data, reports her after she refuses to come clean: 'Our friend group is calling me a traitor.'

Author image for Inés Soubrie
Inés Soubrie • Writer and Editor
Jul 25, 2026 2:30 PM EDT

At what point does friendship come before one's work ethic?

Working alongside a friend can be extremely tricky. It can either go really well or terribly wrong. Now recommending a friend for a position at a company you work in can be even more complicated. Stakes are high, expectations are high, and so is the pressure. You would never want your coworkers to think you only recommended someone because they are your friend, and not because you think they are totally qualified for the job. 

This user recommended their friend for a position at their job. Things seemed to be going smoothly until they found out they were not only paying someone else to do their job, but also leaking confidential information from the company while doing so. Now I can't imagine being in a position where I'd have to choose between my work ethic and covering up a friend, but this is just a matter of ethics in life. Not only was your friend generous enough to hook you up with a job offer, but you wasted your opportunity by not doing your job and, even worse, compromising your friend's job. 

I think people are getting way too comfortable with getting away with stuff. And not to make this an AI lecture, but with the rise of AI, ownership and responsibility are becoming more of a premium trait rather than a baseline that we should all instinctively follow. The thought of not understanding why paying somebody else to do a task you are getting paid to do, and violating confidentiality, is wrong and cheap sounds insane to me. 

And not only did this woman betray her friend at work, but she also put their whole friend group against OP. I know some people don't take their job as seriously, but others take their profession as seriously as their personal life; and they shouldn't be punished or shamed for it. This person decided to call her friend out at work, and as a result, got blocked and blacklisted by the entire friend group. 

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  • 01
    Two men wearing suits are seated across from each other at an office table.
    via Getty Images

    Two men wearing suits are seated across from each other at an office table.

    Image is illustrative for representation purposes.

  • 02
    AITJ for telling our boss that my employee (who is also my friend) hired an outsider to do her job? I'm in a really tough spot at work and need an honest reality check on how I handled this.
    via bellairl
  • 03
    Im a supervisor for a small team at a company. A few months ago, I helped my close friend Jenny get a job on my team. Everything seemed fine at first, but recently I found out something that completely shocked me. Jenny has been paying an outside freelancer to do a large portion of her daily workload for her.
    via bellairl
  • 04
    Even worse, to do this, she gave this external person access to our internal company data and systems.
    via bellairl
  • 05
    Woman and man shaking hands at an office.
    via Getty Images

    Woman and man shaking hands at an office. 

    Image is representative. 

  • 06
    This is a massive violation of our security policy and contracts. As her supervisor, I realized that if data got leaked, or if upper management found out through an audit, I would likely be fired alongside her for letting it happen on my watch.
    via bellairl
  • 07
    Business woman and man talking in an office.
    via Getty Images

    Business woman and man talking in an office. 

    Individual pictured is a model used for illustrative purposes.

  • 08
    I pulled Jenny aside privately and told her she had to stop immediately, revoke the person's access, and come clean to our boss. She refused, saying it wasn't a big deal since the work was getting done, and she begged me to cover for her as a friend.
    via bellairl
  • 09
    I couldn't sleep for days worrying about the liability. Ultimately, I decided I couldn't risk my own career and reputation. I went to our boss, explained the situation, and showed
    via bellairl
  • 10
    the evidence. Jnny was terminated immediately, and now she and our mutual friends are furious with me. They're calling me a traitor and saying I ruined her life over a company that doesn't care about me anyway.
    via bellairl
  • 11
    AITJ for reporting my friend to protect my job and the company's data?
    via bellairl
  • 12
    TL;DR: My friend, who works on my team, hired an outside freelancer to do her work and gave them access to confidential company data. As her supervisor, I asked her to stop, but she refused. I reported her to our boss to protect my own career, she got fired, and now our friend group is calling me a traitor.
    via bellairl
  • 13
    Two men wearing suits stretching hands making a deal.
    via Getty Images

    Two men wearing suits stretching hands making a deal. 

    Subjects are models. 

  • 14
    luv-dark NTA, you had to protect the company and your job. Jenny made a huge mistake and put everyone at risk.
    via Luv-dark
  • 15
    Megsyboo She is not your friend and neither are the people of whom you both know. Time to find some friends. You did the right thing. NTJ
    via Megsyboo
  • 16
    CarpetScary684 All of those who are defending her are not your friends! Never ever hire friends or family!!!! She violated every rule of ethics. Cut ties with all of them you do not need friends like that. I'm sorry you are being abused by these people, it's shameful that they have gone to that side. Thankfully that's not a sword you're going to have to di on today.
    via CarpetScary884
  • 17
    Yukina_Hikari NTJ. She had no buisnesses putting your job at risk so screw her
    via Yukina_Hikari
  • 18
    Plane_Translator2008 It may, IMHO, have been different, had Jenny been paying someone to help do her job without giving access to the company network and/or proprietary systems and information. As soon as it became a security risk, you became obligated to report her or become party to the breach. (Your friends should understand that.) NTJ
    via Plane_Translator2008
  • 19
    JLand2004 Jenny is not your friend. She used you to get a job and then didn't care about how her actions affected you. You probably should have been clearer that she needed to confess or resign. It seems like you were a little ambiguous in your conversation with her. But NTJ
    via JLand2004
  • 20
    writesgud It's not about choosing a company that doesn't care about you over a friend. It's about a "friend" that didn't care about you losing your job over her own dumb, lazy shortcuts that were bound to get caught. Better, more mature friends would recognize this. Everyone else here are jerks except you.
    via writesgud
  • 21
    StinkyWhale71 I would do the same. Especially galling after you confronted her!
    via StinkyWhale71
  • 22
    ericthehoverbee NTJ but you are very lucky that you did not also get fired for delaying the report.
    via ericthehoverbee
  • 23
    TurtleSmurf NTJ - This should be a good clue not to hire friends.
    via TurtleSmurf
  • 24
    notastepfordwife I had a friend similar to this. I ratted her out in a heartbeat because it was her or me, and it sure as h I wasn't gonna be me.
    via notastepfordwife
  • 25
    CatsMom4Ever NTJ. Wow, what a violation of every company security rule! Why would anyone think this was okay? But the bigger question is this? How much was she getting paid that she could pay someone else and still have money to live on?
    via CatsMom4Ever

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