Pexels/Reddit

Few things test your patience at work like watching someone arrive early and then deliberately avoid the one thing they showed up to do.

One employee’s replacement was scheduled at 5:15 for a handover, which should’ve meant a clean transition and a 5:30 departure.

Instead, the coworker would walk in, head straight to the back, and start socializing with other staff while the desk went uncovered.

Eventually, the employee started leaving right at 5:30, regardless of whether the coworker had come up.

Phones rang. The waiting room filled. Important context from the day walked out the door inside her head.

So when the coworker had the guts to complain to their boss, this employee didn’t sugarcoat her annoyance.

Keep reading for the full story.

5:30 means 5:30, not when you’re ready

When my boss had more employees, I would leave at 5:30 and another employee was supposed to arrive at 5:15 for handover.

But this coworker wasn’t the most considerate person.

However, no matter what time she got there she would go to the back and have a chatfest with the other employees.

I would wait for her to come up so I could leave, but I found she wouldn’t come up until I went to find her to say I’m leaving.

So the employee just started reclaiming their schedule without asking for permission.

I got tired of this and just left at 5:30.

Phone ringing, people in the waiting room, emergencies? Not my problem.

Issues that are better explained in person? Left with me in my head.

So when the coworker inevitably complained, this employee let her have it.

She complained to me and our boss about it and I told her it’s not my business where she is in the building when her shift starts.

The next day she was at the desk before I left, grumpy as heck.

Let’s hope this lesson sticks with this coworker.

What did Reddit have to say?

Setting boundaries at work is an important skill for anyone to learn.

Employees shouldn’t be forced to wait on someone to relieve them of their shift.

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Maybe the company is really the one to blame here.

Maybe this is a lesson this coworker would have eventually learned on her own.

The coworker complaining about her assertiveness is the most entertaining part of this whole story.

Ultimately, the coworker’s complaint boiled down to: “She stopped doing the thing I forced her to do by refusing to do my job.” So she was essentially admitting her own guilt.

This coworker was the one who was in the building on time and chose not to be at the desk, which just showed how lopsided her priorities were from the very start.

In this day and age, you choose to either stand up for yourself or get stepped on. And this employee made the right choice.

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Author

Benjamin Cottrell

Benjamin Cottrell | Assistant Editor, Internet Culture

Benjamin Cottrell is an Assistant Editor and contributing writer at TwistedSifter, specializing in internet culture, viral social dynamics, and the moral complexities of online communities. He brings a highly analytical, editorial voice to his reporting on workplace conflicts, malicious compliance, and interpersonal drama, with a specific focus on nuanced stories that lack an obvious villain.

As a published author of rhetorical criticism, Benjamin leverages his academic background in human communication to dissect and elevate viral social media threads. Instead of simply summarizing events, he provides readers with balanced, deep-dive commentary into why the internet reacts the way it does. In addition to his cultural reporting, he is an experienced fine art photography essayist and video game reviewer.

When he isn’t analyzing the latest viral debates, Benjamin is usually chipping away at his extensive video game backlog, hunting down the best new restaurants, or out exploring the city with a camera in hand.

Connect with Benjamin on Instagram and read more of his essays on Substack.