Woman furious as she’s expected to work Christmas shift because she doesn’t have kids

14 November 2022, 15:00

By Naomi Bartram

@naomibartram

A woman has asked for advice after her colleagues assumed she would be working Christmas just because she doesn't have children.

A woman has refused to work festive shifts for the second year in a row just because she is the only one without children.

Taking to Reddit with her work place drama, the anonymous woman explained that she had worked on Christmas Day last year, but decided she wanted this year off.

The young woman then made plans to spend time with her boyfriend, but she was soon asked to swap her shift with her colleagues, who all have kids.

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She wrote: "I don’t have children, but am very close with my family and so I was looking forward to not having to worry about work and spend Christmas time completely focused on them.

"Our Christmas schedule has come out, and this has led to annoyed parents of small children because they have to work Christmas this year.

"I was approached by a few coworkers about me working their Christmas shift and they would work shifts of mine before Christmas.

"Everyone knows that my boyfriend and I don’t have children as of yet, so I tend to be one of the people that get asked the most for shift exchanges.”

She then went on to say she thinks she deserves time off over the festive period just as much as her co-workers.

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"I declined the coworkers that asked if I would work their Christmas this year, and I could tell there was annoyance about this,” she said.

"I may not have kids but my family is very close, and my grandparents have medical problems so I try to enjoy every moment with them I can. I was also looking forward to not feeling exhausted during family time.

"Seeing the annoyance of coworkers when I declined made me feel both bad and frustrated. I understand that everyone obviously wants to be with their kids during Christmas, but I want to be with my family too."

Unsurprisingly, the post received a lot of comments, with users pretty much all in agreement.

One person said: "You worked it last year and your vacation plans are just as important as those with kids. You did your part and now it’s someone else’s turn."

Another wrote: "I hate it when people with children pull this sort of thing. As if people without children have no life and family."

A third added: “I'm a father of three kids who's had to work on holidays. I 100% agree. My kids are not anyone else's responsibility and I'm not any more entitled to have Christmas off because of them.”

A fourth added: “You don’t even need family to say no. If you want to take a holiday on your own and enjoy Christmas, you have every right to do that.”

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