Remember the pandemic? That was a weird time, wasn’t it? Of course, if you lost someone you loved, the pandemic was a tragic time, with the lockdowns and restrictions making the situation all the more horrific. And the ways in which many people were impacted will never be okay.

For workers in some countries, their wages were paid – at least some of their wages – by their governments, meaning that they could wait out the pandemic at home, safe in the knowledge that their bills would be paid and they’d still be able to put food on the table. But for others, reductions in working hours meant extra anxiety, not just about the health and welfare of themselves and their loved ones, but about how they would be able to afford to live too.

So when the woman in this story was offered extra work, she was happy to take her boss up on the offer. Her stepfather, though, had other ideas.

Read on to find out why.

AITA for wanting to go to work tomorrow and Sunday?

So, my boss asked me (female, twenty) to come in tomorrow and Sunday because some people called off.

I said yes, and I told my stepdad as soon as I got home.

He instantly got mad at me, and said I cannot, even going as far as trying to call my boss to tell her that I had some “last minute plans.”

I told him that might not even work because it’s last minute, plus no one will be able to cover for me – he said I was selfish for even trying to go.

Yikes! Let’s find out why he had such an issue with this.

I told him I needed the money, because my check has been shortened as well as my hours before this (I’m part time and I work at a children’s clothing store at the mall).

Plus I have to pay $110-150 per month for my phone bill and my bus pass.

He taunted me as I tried to plead with him, I really need this money and all he did was ignored me and even accused me of trying to contaminate everyone when I’m not.

I’m just desperate for work and money, and these hours will really help me.

But then things got even worse.

In the end I ended up breaking down and crying.

My mom heard and came out and defended me, but this quickly escalated to them screaming at each other and now she’s saying she’s getting a divorce.

I just wanted to go to work and now I feel terrible and selfish.

AITA?

One thing’s for sure: this woman has done nothing wrong whatsoever.

She’s twenty years old, and still her stepdad is trying to dominate her life?

It’s no wonder that her mom wants a divorce, with abuse like this going on around them.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a stepmom who says stepson isn’t doing enough, despite the fact that he’s working 12-hour shifts to pay for his own college.

Let’s see what folks on Reddit made of this.

This person agreed that she was totally entitled to work.

While others saw how cancelling the shifts could be a huge problem for her.

Meanwhile, this Redditor thought that her stepdad was the problem.

At twenty years old – pandemic or no pandemic – you have every right to make your own decisions. The fact that her stepdad is being so forceful – and even trying to call her boss on her behalf to cancel her shifts – shows that he is overstepping by a mile. As a parent you do not get to dictate when your adult child can and cannot work, and his attitude is nothing short of abuse. He’s clearly a controlling person and cannot simply stand by while his adult stepdaughter makes her own decisions. She might blame herself, but it is not her fault that her mother wants to get a divorce from this combative and controlling man.

Regardless of his opinions, she should go to work at the weekend. Not only will this continue her own sense of agency, but it will show him that he has no right to try to control her. She is an adult, and makes her own decisions, and if he has a problem with this? Well, that’s his issue to deal with.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man whose celebratory post-grad school vacation is being ruined by his family’s insistence he’s being lazy.