AITA for treating my coworker differently after she accused me of making her uncomfortable when I covered for her at work?
The user, a 30-year-old man (OP), was working with his small office team when his coworker, Samantha (28F), had an emergency and asked him to complete a work report due the next day.
The OP agreed to help, finished the report, and submitted it under both of their names to ensure Samantha received credit.
The situation immediately turned negative when Samantha later filed a complaint with HR, stating that the OP taking over her work without explicit permission made her uncomfortable and felt undermining.
Although HR cleared the OP, he was deeply affected by the event and subsequently began keeping a strict professional distance from Samantha, leading her to confront him about being cold and unfair. The OP is now wondering if he is wrong for maintaining this cautious distance.
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The central conflict lies between the OP's intention to be helpful and supportive, which resulted in him being formally investigated, and Samantha's stated need to enforce personal boundaries regarding workload management.
The OP has chosen self-protection by withdrawing from casual interaction, which Samantha perceives as unfair punishment and an overreaction.
The core question is whether the OP is justified in creating a formal distance from a coworker after an overly aggressive response to a well-intentioned act of a*sistance.
Readers must weigh the OP's need for professional safety against Samantha's claim that his reaction is disproportionate to her original boundary-setting intention.
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