A Woman Refused To Give Up Her 'Solo Picnic' To Help A Co-Worker & Reactions Are So Divided

Being a bad co-worker doesn’t necessarily mean you’re also a bad person, and that’s the conversation that’s being demonstrated by a recent Reddit post.

A 29-year-old woman took to the popular Reddit forum /Am I The A**hole to detail why she refused to help a co-worker even if it meant missing their child's recital and it's sparked a heated debate online.

In her post, the woman starts off by explaining how she maintains a work-life balance and shares that she even negotiated a contract with her employer that prohibits them from contacting her outside of work hours.

Additionally, she doesn't work overtime and always takes her lunch and coffee breaks away from her desk.

"If it is a true emergency, then they can send me an email. Otherwise, they can't even send me a text,” she wrote in her post.

She also says that any time her co-workers ask for her help, she typically turns them down.

“They sometimes ask me to 'help,' but I always decline by saying that I have plans,” she writes and adds that 99% of the time those plans include going home, reading a book or sleeping.

In her post, the woman then goes on to explain a specific incident that happened at work.

She says a co-worker approached the woman and asked her if she could stay a little later to help her finish some important work that had to be done that night “because she had to attend her daughter's recital at 6.”

The Reddit user says she refused and said she already had plans.

“It was a nice day, so instead of going home, I just went to a park to read while breathing some fresh air. Brought some fruit and bubble tea, and made a picnic out of it.”

In an awkward turn of events, the co-worker ended up finding the Reddit user at the park and confronted her.

“She said that I could have helped her if I didn't have plans, I said that I do have plans, this impromptu picnic,” the post continued.

“She said that it wasn't as important as her daughter's recital. So I said that for me, it was even more important than her daughter's recital.”

The Reddit post has sparked a lot of reaction since it was posted online.

Some people are praising the Redditor for setting boundaries and prioritizing her personal time, while others are criticizing her and saying she was being selfish.

One commenter wrote, “I mean...you're living 10000% in the black and white definition of your job responsibilities. If you're asking if you are wrong for refusing to change your boundaries, you're NTA.”

“If you're asking if I would like working with you — also probably no, but I don't think that will keep you up at night,” continued the comment which received over 23,100 likes.

The Reddit user replied to the comment saying that she never asks others to help her with her work and worst case scenario she would just take paid time off to deal with her personal affairs instead of turning to her co-workers.

Another commenter shot back and replied, “One day that could very easily change. Very bold to assume you’ll never need help from your co-workers.”

This started a bit of a back-and-forth between the Reddit user and commenters, with her writing back, “Then I will just struggle by myself.”

“In the sense that it is your personal time, and you owe it to no one NTA,” wrote another commenter who received almost 8,000 likes. "In the sense that if you were my co-worker and this happened, I would never go out of my way to assist you with anything.”

Another commenter wrote, “This is one of those 'Technically you’re not an a**hole but you’re basically asking for everyone to hate you' situations.”

At the heart of this debate is the issue of work-life balance. In today's fast-paced world, many people feel like they have to be available 24/7, always on call and ready to respond to work-related issues. This can lead to burnout and a lack of fulfillment outside of work.

On the other hand, some argue that being a team player means being there for your co-workers, even if it means sacrificing some personal time.

As for the woman in the Reddit post, she continued to defend her decision in her edit and in the comments.

While some people may disagree with her, it's clear that she has set boundaries and is sticking to them.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.