I Refuse to Cover My Pregnant Coworker for Free, Now HR Is Involved

Pregnancy is no easy feat, I get that. But should it become someone else’s responsibility to walk on eggshells around you and help you out? I chose to stand up to my demanding, pregnant colleague, and things totally backfired.

Hi dear readers! My coworker announced her pregnancy at work like she won the lottery. Everyone clapped and cheered, and honestly, I was happy for her too. But that excitement didn’t last long once she started acting like I was her backup employee.

She began saying things like, “I’m struggling with morning sickness, please help me out,” and “you’d understand if you were a woman”, pushing more and more of her work my way. At first, I didn’t want to be rude, so I said yes. But then she didn’t hold back on asking for favors. She’d come in late, leave early, or just message me that she’s going to the doctor, expecting me to take care of her tasks “for now.”

One morning, she sent me another text asking me to handle her reports again, and I finally snapped a little. I told her, “I’ll do it if you pay me a part of your salary.” It wasn’t even meant to be mean, more like a half-joke, half-truth. She didn’t take it that way. She went quiet, and the next day, I froze when I got an email from HR, asking me to meet them.

Turns out, she had complained that I was refusing to be a “team player” and that I was “discriminating against her because she’s pregnant and being mean instead of understanding.”

During the meeting, I explained everything. I told them I was happy to help once, but can’t continue taking on unpaid extra work. Thankfully, I had the text messages to back it up. HR reviewed them and said I wasn’t wrong for setting boundaries but I should’ve been more “delicate” in my approach.

They called in the pregnant lady, too and I found out that she has now been “asked” to handle all her work on time by herself without excuse or go on unpaid leave. She stopped talking to me completely and all my coworkers are treating me like I’m the office villain, whispering things like “it costs nothing to be a little kind”. I don’t get it. How is it my responsibility to take care of her or help her out? I’m not a charity or her boyfriend. Am I wrong in thinking this way?

Sometimes, it’s the quiet moments of kindness that change lives, even save them. Read next: 10 Stories That Prove Kindness Is Never a Weakness, but a Key to Survival