Navigating the workplace is hard enough without unsolicited input from the peanut gallery—especially when that peanut gallery happens to be living in your house.
A sick employee followed all the rules, but her husband’s best friend had other ideas about how she should conduct herself.
Read on for the story.
For context, my husband’s best friend (let’s call him “Jake”) lives with us.
He pays a small amount in rent (about 1/4 of what it’s worth), helps out by watering my plants (I pay for all the supplies), and feeding my cat (I buy the food—my cat just likes hanging out in the upstairs area where Jake lives).
Sounds like the ultimate roommate starter pack.
Jake also works with my husband, and I recently started working there as well.
Recently, I got sick and was sent home from work for a week.
After a few days, I was feeling well enough to head into the office briefly to sort out some work and then head back home to rest.
This was cleared with my boss beforehand.
When I was getting ready to leave, I went to say goodbye to my husband.
Jake was there too and made a snarky comment along the lines of, “You must understand how this looks to everyone that works here, and if you’re sick, you should stay home and not come in.”
This really rubbed me the wrong way.
Jake isn’t in any kind of authority over my position, and this isn’t the first time he’s made comments when I’ve been allowed to leave work early due to personal circumstances.
Jake’s job title: Chief of Unnecessary Opinions.
I feel like it’s overstepping, especially since my boss had no issue with me coming in briefly.
Now I’m wondering: AITA for going home early with permission, or for being upset about Jake’s comments?
Reddit thinks Jake’s meddling was out of line and his comments had no business being said—literally or figuratively.
This person has some jokes.
This person really feels for the poster.
This. person has a great dialogue for next time.
Maybe Jake should focus more on paying fair rent and less on policing coworkers’ schedules.
Just a thought.
If you liked this post, you might want to read this story about a teacher who taught the school’s administration a lesson after they made a sick kid take a final exam.
