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People have a funny way of taking things for granted.

That’s what happened after this employee spent years stepping up whenever the manager left the office. Along with the regular workload, the employee handled emails, took care of the day-to-day operations, and kept everything running without expecting anything extra in return.

Then one argument changed everything.

The manager reminded the employee that he wasn’t the boss, and that’s when he decided it was time to stop doing work that didn’t belong to him.

So, the next time the manager left town, he focused on his job and nothing more.

Keep reading to see what happened next.

You’re not the manager.

I have been at my place of work for over six years now.

Whenever my boss, who we’ll call Phil, is away, I always step up and cover for him, doing all of his work while he’s away, plus my own, for no extra pay.

I also handle a lot of the day-to-day running of the office, including dealing with reps and the like. This frees Phil up to do other things for our owner. Those activities take Phil away from the office for a week once a month, so I do end up doing a fair bit of extra work.

Still upset, he decides to only do his own work.

Now, a few weeks ago, Phil and I got into a little argument over a staff member’s vacation that interfered with Phil’s and the owner’s activities. The argument ended with him telling me that I was not the manager.

While I don’t bite back, I just responded, “That’s true,” and went back to my desk, having lost the argument.

Fast forward to last week.

I’m still a bit salty over the argument and being told off, considering I do most of the work in the office. So Phil leaves on Wednesday for the usual monthly activities with the owner. I decide, well, I’ve been told I’m not the manager, so I’m only going to do my own work.

Unfortunately for Phil, Monday is going to be busy.

I was pretty busy during the week, but I normally make time to check Phil’s email and follow up on what needs to be done. By the time I left on Saturday evening, Phil had 135 unopened emails.

Hope you enjoyed your Monday, Phil.

After all, you are the manager.

Wow! That’s such an awesome way to get him back!

Let’s see if the fine folks over at Reddit have ever done anything similar.

That’s shocking, but there were worse things about this story.

This reader encountered something similar.

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Here’s some good advice.

It sure doesn’t.

There’s a big difference between doing extra work because you want to and feeling expected to do it.

The manager should’ve appreciated everything the employee had been doing instead of reminding him what wasn’t in the job description.

And for that simple reason alone, he deserved every one of those extra emails waiting for him when he got back.

Maybe next time he’ll think twice before taking someone’s extra effort for granted.

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Author

Heather Hall

Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

Connect with Heather on Facebook and LinkedIn.