I work in a small team where everyone usually helps each other out with shifts when needed. A few months ago, one of my coworkers Tara, started asking me pretty often to cover for her. At first, I didn’t mind. Life happens, and I try to be a decent person, so I said yes whenever I could. Around that same time, she told me she was short on cash and asked if I could lend her some money just for a week. It wasn’t a huge amount, and she seemed stressed, so I agreed. That week came and went… then another… and another.
Every time I asked, she had an excuse. Then I started hearing from other coworkers that tara had been talking about me behind my back. Stuff like I’m too eager to please, that I’m desperate for approval, and even implying I only help people so I can hold it over them later. Which is ironic, considering I hadn’t even pressed her hard about the money she owed me. I decided to step back and stopped volunteering to cover her shifts. Last week, she asked me (last minute, of course) to take one of her shifts because she really needed a break. I politely told her I couldn’t.
She got annoyed and said I was being petty and keeping score, and that I used to be more helpful. I told her that I didn’t appreciate the things she’d been saying about me, and also reminded her that she still hasn’t paid me back. She brushed it off and said people talk all the time and that I shouldn’t take it personally. Now she’s telling others I’m unreliable and that I’ve changed and a couple coworkers have hinted that I should just be the bigger person and help her out anyway. I don’t feel like I’m in the wrong here. I helped her multiple times, lent her money she hasn’t repaid and she repaid me by gossiping about me.
But now I’m wondering…
AITAH for refusing to cover her shifts anymore?