Employee stands up for herself when entitled co-worker and toxic boss try to increase her workload

It is one thing to have an annoying co-worker, but having a boss who sides with them is quite frustrating. That was the case for a 28-year-old phlebotomist u/WitchyWolf94, who worked the first shift in a local hospital several years ago. Though her shift started at the wee hour of 3 am, the woman always arrived 10 to 15 minutes early so she could set up her cart. Her punctuality was taken for granted by a bothersome co-worker who always tried to leave her shift early. When the phlebotomist shared this story on Reddit, many could relate to it.

On clocking in early at work, the phlebotomist took their sweet time to restock their tray, organize the tubes and have a cup of coffee to be up for the day. However, the co-worker in question was known for being "lazy and rude." Snapping at people who try to help her, reading a book during rush morning hours at the hospital and simply wasting time was her routine. "When it was time to start the morning rush, she'd get mad if someone took the stack of labs she wanted and she'd go demanding them," the medical staff explained. So, eventually, the phlebotomist changed her shift rather than withstanding this co-worker's attitude.

But the phlebotomist couldn't completely get rid of the co-worker's irritating personality. "I liked to come early and set up my cart before I clocked in. She figured this out quickly, so she would try to hand me the stroke or trauma pager," she said. Even if the phlebotomist refused, the co-worker would leave the pager in her cart and clock out of work early. It led to emergencies when the pager continuously went off and was left unresponded. When she confronted the co-worker, it caused a heated conversation, making the supervisor involved. "Our supervisor took her side and said, 'Just take it and if it goes off, you clock in and then I will adjust the clock in on the computer,' saying she'd shorten my time on the clock," the hospital staff mentioned.

Frustrated by the lazy co-worker and the toxic boss, the phlebotomist decided to clock in right on time. "I set my alarm for later in the morning and I started coming in at the last minute so I could clock in at 2:59 am," she said. Though it disrupted her morning rush, she didn't have to be responsible for her co-worker's pager since she had her own schedule. "She complained to the supervisor who tried to talk to me, but I said, 'Well, I'm not supposed to be here until 3, so that's when I get here and clock in now. I don't want my hours messed up,'" she wrote. As the boss couldn't argue with this statement, the co-worker got too upset and went on demanding others take her pager so she could leave 20 minutes earlier.

People couldn't believe how entitled the co-worker was. "I'd be super disappointed in your supervisor for trying to placate her just because she is likely emotionally draining to manage," said u/Sapphyre2222. "It's always surprising to me how unprofessional people can be in medicine. I had a shift last week where a paramedic who doesn't normally work our shift felt the need to lecture everyone on their history of PTSD and traumas," chimed in u/jfinnswake. "Good for you standing up for yourself. Most managers only want to avoid drama and end up caving to the problem employees," added u/BEE1967.