What would you do if a bunch of people you worked with gossiped about a coworker you were friends with behind her back? would you listen to the gossip in silence or stand up for your friend?

In today’s story, one ER doctor stands up for her friend, but her coworkers’ reaction is making her second guess that decision.

Let’s see why everyone has turned on her friend…and now on her as well.

AITA for refusing to take sides in a workplace feud?

I (39F) have been an ER doctor in a small rural hospital for 6 years.

One of the ugly secrets not everyone knows about hospitals is that valuables often go missing.

It’s deplorable, but in a place with hundreds of workers and thousands of strangers constantly coming in and out, likely not everyone is gonna be honest.

So since my first day here, my coworkers told me to hide my wallet cause cash tends to disappear around here.

The coworkers point the blame at different people.

What kept changing was the alleged culprit.

In my first year, everybody swore it was a health technician, who eventually quit for unrelated reasons. Then they switched the blame to an ER nurse, and now to another for the past 2-3 years (51F Amy).

Now, I believe that where there’s smoke there’s fire.

That said, my own experience in these years has always been very positive. I’m known to be very forgetful and careless about my stuff, yet nothing has ever disappeared.

She is friends with Amy.

As long as I’ve been here, I’ve always refused to take sides. I’m friendly with everyone and, although I enjoy innocent gossip (like who’s sleeping with whom), I firmly refuse to judge anyone based on voices alone.

Amy has always been a friend of mine, we exchange jokes and sometimes confidences. She’s in a rough spot because of health concerns with her elderly parents and I try to be supportive.

What drives me up the wall is the general attitude in the ward.

At least 3 ER workers have told me they personally witnessed Amy rummaging through coworkers’ and patients’ purses, yet no one has ever stopped her in the act, or even called her to the side to ask what she was doing, or filed a report.

She stood up for Amy.

Lately I’ve been unwillingly involved in this drama, although I always tried to stay out of it.

A couple of colleagues have openly criticized me for continuing to be in good terms with Amy, implying that if I keep being friends with her then I must condone her behavior.

Yesterday I finally lost my cool.

I bluntly stated that I have the right to talk to whomever I want, that I’ve never seen a sliver of proof that she’s actually doing what she’s accused of, that adult people should have the courage to speak up when they see someone committing a crime, and that this “Mean Girls” attitude is more worthy of a kindergarten than a professional setting.

She’s not sure if she did the right thing.

As so, I’m now shunned by a good portion of my coworkers.

I couldn’t care less about what my coworkers think, but I’m torn about how I handled the situation.

If Amy’s actually guilty, of course I won’t shield her anymore, but I don’t feel comfortable jumping on the band wagon with nothing more than whispers and gossip.

So, AITA for refusing to take sides in this workplace feud?

Maybe she should talk to Amy about the rumors, not blaming her, but more in a way to warn her about what people are saying behind her back. Amy’s reaction to the news might be telling.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This person makes a good point and asks a good question.

Security should handle this.

She should tell Amy.

No matter who is responsible, the hospital should investigate.

This person offers a suggestion about how to catch the thief.

The gossip needs to stop!

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.