Not every coworker relationship is meant to extend beyond office hours.

So when one employee quietly invited her actual friends to a joint birthday party, an older coworker took the exclusion personally.

What was meant to be a private celebration suddenly turned into an HR-level guilt trip.

You’ll want to keep reading for this one.

35 Y/O coworker complained to boss bc I didn’t invite her to my party

So I’m 24, turning 25, and my boyfriend and I have very close birthdays, so we usually celebrate together.

We planned our party, and I invited a couple of my girls from work.

These are friends I hang out with regularly outside of work, and I sent them all a discreet, private message with the invitation.

But soon, one of her other colleagues felt left out.

Well, my 35-year-old coworker found out about it because someone was talking about it out loud.

She called me into her room and said, “I’m just really sad,” and then went on about how hurt she was that I didn’t invite her to my birthday party.

The complaining didn’t end there.

To make it worse, she went to our bosses and complained to them. After that, they spoke in a staff meeting about being “sensitive to others.”

I sent my friends a private message. I honestly don’t know how much more sensitive I can be.

Colleagues shouldn’t expect to be invited to every single event, especially outside of work.

What did Reddit think?

Higher-ups really shouldn’t enforce rules they’re not willing to follow themselves.

This commenter suspects an ulterior motive.

Feeling embarrassed by a snub is one thing, but doubling down on it is another.

The whole thing is just embarrassing.

Not every coworker becomes your best friend.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.