November 6, 2026 at 1:35 am

She Refused Extra Shifts Until She Got Travel-Worker Pay—Leaving Her Coworkers to Pick Up the Slack

by Jayne Elliott

woman in blue scrubs sitting outside

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Imagine working at a hospital. You happily work there and even work a lot of overtime, but then everything changes. There’s a new employee, a travel worker who gets paid a lot more than you do, and I mean a lot more!

Would you still be willing to happily work overtime like before, or would your pay suddenly not seem fair anymore?

In this story, one hospital employee is in this situation, and she doesn’t want to work overtime anymore. She feels kind of bad about this decision but not bad enough to change her mind.

Let’s read all about it.

AITA for not working any extra shifts

I work at a small rural hospital.

We have always struggled with employees because it’s a remote, rural location and what I do is highly specialized.

We need someone there 24/7, on call isn’t an option, and tbh working overnight sucks.

She stopped working overtime.

I used to work extra shifts. We get time and a half, plus 100$ cash if we do.

But six months ago we hired a traveler.

The traveler is a temp employee, who makes 3x what the perm staff does for the same job.

Ever since then I have refused to work extra shifts.

She has her reasons.

I feel undervalued and like I’m just cheap labor.

Because of this, I got in a heated conversation with a supervisor, because I don’t think it’s fair this person gets so much more money than me.

We currently need 14 night shifts covered.

She wants to be paid what she thinks is fair.

No one wants to do it, and in my line of work people could actually die if no one is there.

I said I would cover all 14 of them, if they paid me what they were willing to pay the traveler.

Admin refused to bargain, so I’m refusing to work these shifts.

She feels kind of bad about her decision.

Not working these shifts means someone else has to.

I’m messing over my co-workers.

Several coworkers have decided to work a couple of nights, but I’m refusing to help. AITA?

It’s time for her coworkers to step up. She shouldn’t feel bad about refusing to work overtime.

Let’s see how Reddit responded.

This person reassures her that she’s not doing anything wrong.

2026 11 05 at 12.10.58 PM She Refused Extra Shifts Until She Got Travel Worker Pay—Leaving Her Coworkers to Pick Up the Slack

Another person points out the benefits of unions.

2026 11 05 at 12.11.32 PM She Refused Extra Shifts Until She Got Travel Worker Pay—Leaving Her Coworkers to Pick Up the Slack

This person is on her side.

2026 11 05 at 12.11.43 PM She Refused Extra Shifts Until She Got Travel Worker Pay—Leaving Her Coworkers to Pick Up the Slack

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a cashier who got annoyed with a group of friends who insisted on returning their items separately.

Another person points out why travelers get paid more.

2026 11 05 at 12.12.03 PM She Refused Extra Shifts Until She Got Travel Worker Pay—Leaving Her Coworkers to Pick Up the Slack

Overtime isn’t mandatory. She has every right to refuse to work extra hours, especially when she doesn’t feel like she’s being paid fairly. She’s not forcing her coworkers to work overtime either. If the coworkers refused, management would have to hire more people or pay more to entice the workers to come in.

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Jayne Elliott | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Jayne Elliott is a contributing writer and editor for TwistedSifter specializing in human interest stories, internet culture, and family dynamics. With over 12 years of editorial experience in digital publishing, Jayne excels at analyzing complex online communities and transforming viral social debates into thoughtful, highly engaging narratives.

Rather than simply aggregating internet drama, Jayne brings a sharp, empathetic editorial eye to everyday dilemmas. She has a unique talent for unpacking the nuances of pop culture and online conflicts, providing readers with relatable, well-researched commentary.

Based in California, Jayne spends her free time outside the newsroom exploring theme parks with her family or beach-combing along the coast.

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