“Must Be Nice”: Coworkers Make Snarky Comments When Childfree Woman Refuses To Sacrifice Her PTO

Working with a team means that sometimes you’ll have to make compromises. You can’t all take a vacation at once, and you might have to stay late when a colleague goes home early. But if you have their back, it’s assumed that they’ll have yours in the future.

Unfortunately, one woman found out that she was on her own after she started receiving pressure from coworkers to give up the PTO she had already requested. They decided that because they have children, they deserve the days off more than she does. Below, you’ll find the full story that she shared on Reddit, as well as some of the replies invested readers left her.

This woman was excited to take a week off to relax and spend time with her family

Image credits: dotshock/Envato (not the actual photo)

But her colleagues decided that because they’re parents, they deserve the time off more than she does

Image credits:  prathanchorruangsak/Envato (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Tricky-Past-7468

Employees are able to use their PTO however they like

Employees work hard to earn their days off, so they should be able to use them however they like. Whether they want to spend a week lying on a beach in Mexico or lying on their couch cuddling with their cat, that’s their prerogative. And they shouldn’t have to explain themselves to their employer.

According to Business.com, paid time off (or PTO) typically covers vacation days, sick leave, and personal days. In the United States, employees are typically given between 11 and 30 days of PTO per year, depending on how long they’ve been at the company.

Image credits: Arlington Research/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

There are a few different ways companies can choose to allot PTO to employees. They may have a fixed allotment that they’re required to use before the end of the calendar year, or they may accrue days throughout the year. These typically roll over from year to year, so employees can stash more if they’re planning on taking a long trip.

And some companies are generous enough to give their employees unlimited PTO. It’s implied that they must use this PTO within reason, as they still have a job to do. But they won’t have to worry about running out if they suddenly become ill or want to take a vacation.

Unfortunately, something that the majority of companies cannot avoid is making employees coordinate their days off. Someone always has to be at work, so typically, more than 2 employees in the same team can’t be off at the same time. And for some reason, childfree workers have realized that they’re usually the ones picking up the slack for their peers who are parents.

The vast majority of workers believe that parents are treated better than childfree individuals in the workplace

A 2022 survey by ResumeLab found that 72% of respondents (80% of whom were parents) say that they’ve noticed childfree workers being treated unfairly simply because they don’t have kids. And 74% of respondents believe that parents are treated better in the workplace overall.

Apparently, the favoritism towards parents often becomes clear when it comes to taking days off or receiving assignments. 63% of childfree workers say they’ve been denied time-off at least once, and 85% of survey respondents admitted that parents have priority when planning vacations and days off.

Image credits: Arlington Research/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

Meanwhile, 69% of childfree workers said they have had to work overtime at least once. And 70% noted that they’ve been given a larger workload than their colleagues with children at least once.

87% of survey respondents agree or strongly agree that working parents have more benefits than childfree workers. And 81% agree or strongly agree that child-related absences are more important to employers than absences of those who don’t have kids. 

While it’s perfectly understandable to want to accommodate working parents, it shouldn’t come at the expense of their colleagues. After all, parents choose to have kids. They know it will complicate certain aspects of their lives; that doesn’t mean they’re entitled to special treatment.

Whether you have a family or not shouldn’t be your employer’s business. Everyone should be expected to do their job, and everyone should be allowed to use their vacation days whenever they please.

Later, the author joined in on the conversation in the comments section

Many readers assured her that she had done nothing wrong, noting that she deserves days off as much as anyone else

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