A man says he is setting a boundary with his coworker, who he feels has abused his kindness.
In a post on Reddit’s “Am I The A——?” forum, the man explained that he has been giving his coworker rides home from work for two years because he doesn’t have a car.
Detailing that he usually has to go about five miles out of the way to drop this coworker off at his home in the evening, the man added that he has never “asked for anything” for these rides, and his coworker has “never offered” to give him anything in return.
During a recent workday, the man wrote that he was at the vending machine in their office and wanted a soda. “I was short a dollar and had left my wallet in my car. I would usually go get my wallet, but it takes forever to wait for the elevators at my workplace,” he said.
Noting that his coworker, who he has driven home countless times, was around, the man said he asked him if he “could spot me a dollar for the soda.”
However, the coworker, the man wrote, “straight up refused and said, ‘Just use your own money, man. I don’t really give money to friends or coworkers, sorry.’ “
“I was taken aback by that comment because I’ve probably spent well over $1,500 in gas over the past two years for this guy, and he can’t even spot me a dollar just this once?” the man wrote, highlighting his shock at his coworker’s response.
“I got pretty upset by that,” he continued, adding that he then told his coworker that he wasn’t going to give him “free rides anymore” at the end of that workday.
The man wrote that his coworker “seemed upset” and called his action “petty,” which he did not disagree with, given that the coworker is a “lower level employee” from another department who “can’t afford” a car, and public transportation in their area is “nonexistent.”
“But I don’t see that as my problem anymore,” he concluded his post.
A bus not in service (stock image).
Getty
In the comments section of the post, many agreed with the man’s decision.
“Petty is accepting free rides for two years and not only not offering to pay, but not spotting for a vending machine snack,” one user wrote.
Another added that the coworker sounded entitled. “Seriously. I’ve had to get rides from people from time to time and always offer some gas money. And usually they refuse but at the very least I’ll get them a little ‘thank you’ like a snack or something,” they said.
A parent in the forum, meanwhile, explained that she’s already teaching her kid that there’s no such thing as a free ride in life.
“My son doesn’t drive yet, so when we can’t [drive him] and he gets rides from friends, I made sure he knew to offer gas money or coffee or something. They are going out of their way to do him a favor, the least he needs to do is offer some money or food,” they wrote.
Another person told the man to not worry about being “petty,” explaining, “This wasn’t a friendship anyway, this was one person using another for a free ride without any inclination to compensate them in any way.”
