Boss sends everyone home but forces woman to work late because she 'doesn't have kids'

An employee had to work till late while her colleagues could leave early, only because she didn't have children. Annoyed by the unrealistic expectation, the woman turned to Reddit to ask if her being childfree automatically means her time is less valuable. Her post, shared in September 2025, now stands deleted, but we have retained and recounted the story below.

The woman, 26, said she works in an office with a small team, and recounts her boss asking who could stay up late to finish up a few reports. Two of her colleagues immediately refused, saying they had to pick up their kids. "My boss looked straight at me and said, 'Well, you don't have kids, so you can stay,'" she recalled. Surprisingly, her boss thought it was fair to ask the woman to work till late since she had no kids, and as expected, she ended up staying for three hours longer than everybody else. The employee was furious but decided to wait until the following day to speak her mind. "I told my boss it wasn’t fair that I’m always the one staying late just because I don’t have children," the woman wrote. However, her boss, who couldn't understand her justification, said she was being melodramatic. "He rolled his eyes and said I was 'overreacting' and that 'family should come first,'" she wrote.

A survey​ assessing more than 1,100 non-parents found that nearly 77% feel they were "treated differently at work," 60% felt some "friction" with colleagues who were parents themselves, 68% confirmed that they couldn't even "bring up the issue" with their managers, and 16% have considered quitting because of these unnecessary hurdles. This accurately reflects the biased nature of office expectations, often burdening the most efficient workers in the process of redistributing work left undone by others.

Meanwhile, reacting to the story, u/4_glob_sakes commented, "NOR. He is trying to take advantage of you because you don’t have kids. Next time he says you can stay, say, 'I have dinner with my family. Sorry.' He said family was important. So just because you don’t have kids doesn’t mean you don’t have 'family.' Malicious compliance. If he asks if you really are going to see family, ask why other people aren’t getting the third degree on if they actually are doing what they claim as well, or are laid off." Another user, u/usual-journalist-246, recalled, "I had this in a previous job. Pressured to work Saturdays because other staff members had grandchildren. Just say, 'I'm busy.' No more of an explanation should be required, and even that shouldn't be necessary."

u/echobriar wrote, "Your boss is weaponizing parenthood to exploit you. Kids are not a hall pass to dump work on others. Your time has equal value, and if they refuse to see it, start keeping receipts and planning your exit." Raising kids is definitely not easy, but that shouldn't mean those who decide to remain childfree are discriminated for it. On the other hand, u/jerseygirl2468 said, "I don't have kids and have volunteered to finish stuff if I know a coworker with kids needs to go. Volunteered. That's the only acceptable way that works. You definitely need to have plans or 'an appointment' next time this happens; you should also discuss how you are being compensated for this extra time working. If you are working hourly, you should be getting time and a half, and if you're salaried, tell him you'll accept comp time. Or time and a half comp time!"

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