AITAH for not covering for my coworker with a sick kid, resulting in her being fired
In the quiet, demanding world of hos**ce care, one nurse stands alone without the typical family obligations that soften the burden of overnight calls.
She has navigated three years of relentless dedication with unwavering reliability, never once asking for favors or calling out, while her coworkers, mostly parents, lean on each other amid the emotional weight of their work.
Yet beneath her steady exterior, a brewing storm looms—her boss’s unforgiving three strikes rule hangs over everyone’s heads like a guillotine, ready to fall at the slightest misstep.
In this high-stakes environment where compassion meets strict discipline, she faces an invisible test of endurance and resilience that threatens to upend the fragile balance of her professional life.
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The original poster (OP) finds themselves in a difficult situation where their adherence to fairness, based on past exchanges, clashed directly with a coworker's urgent need driven by family ins**bility.
The OP upheld their personal standard of reciprocity, which resulted in the coworker being fired due to the company's strict policy.
Considering the OP's es**blished pattern of reliability versus the coworker's immediate crisis, was the OP obligated to offer assistance without demanding an immediate, equivalent trade, or was their refusal a justified defense of their personal time against repeated demands?
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