Mom Asked Child-Free Coworker For Vacation Days Because She Doesn't "Need" That Many

There is no doubt that the past year has been tough on everyone, full stop. Parents, kids, single people, everyone. Yes, parents have really taken the brunt of the struggle in some cases, but they’re certainly not the only ones. One parent, however, has recently gone viral on Reddit for not seeing it that way and thinking her kid-free coworker should give her some of her vacation days because she’s “childless” and doesn’t “need that many days.” As you might expect, folks on Reddit had a lot to say about this request.

In a Reddit post in the popular sub-group “Am I The “A**hole” that was initially posted months ago but has recently regained interest, a 27-year-old woman explained that her coworker, who has children, asked her for some of her paid vacation days. The mother had used 14 of her 18 paid vacation days due to a death in the family and her daughter being sick earlier in the year and now does not have enough for a vacation.

“As a result, she only has 4 days for the rest of this year,” the Redditor explained. “I have been saving my days for a long vacation and have 44 days, so about 2 months worth saved up. My coworker’s kids want her to take them on a two week vacation. The place they want to go is in our country but pretty far away so 4 days won’t be enough.”

The mom’s solution? “She wants me to give her 6 of my days,” the woman said. “Her justification is that I’m childless and don’t need that many days.”

The original poster noted that she had been saving her vacation days to take a trip around Europe post-pandemic, but understood it might be difficult for this mom. “She says she needs a break more than me. She’s kind of right, maybe kids do make you extra tired. It’s not her fault she had to use 14 vacation days in the first 2 months of the year,” she wrote. “I told her that I can’t give her my days. She’s upset and says that it’s my fault her kids’ dreams are being crushed.”

This post really resonated with people, perhaps because of the added tension between working moms and their coworkers the pandemic has caused. In this case, Reddit users generally sided with the original poster, like this person who wrote, “Oh my God NO. She is not entitled to anything but her own time off. It may not be her fault that she's had sick kids and deaths in the family, but it certainly isn't your fault either. DO NOT give this entitled woman YOUR vacation time. She can take unpaid leave if she is so worried about her kids dreams being crushed.”

Another thought the mom should discuss her problem with her boss rather than a coworker, “it's not your fault about her kids not being able to go on a trip,” they noted. “Life circumstances are at fault for her kids not being able to have their dreams fulfilled. She needs to talk to her boss about getting some unpaid leave.”

Several Reddit users thought she could consider selling her sick days to the mom in question, writing messages like, “perhaps ask for her to compensate you? Although you don’t owe here those days, sometimes kindness to a stranger (even a rude one) has its own rewards.”

Ultimately, the original poster decided to give the mom one day along with several other coworkers so she could take her kids on vacation. Hopefully she’ll still be able to jet off to Europe for a much needed holiday herself, knowing she was kind to a mom in need. Who should be buying her a cocktail or two to say thank you.