Having a coworker with a second job is not necessarily a problem, especially when they can manage their responsibilities without affecting anyone else. But what happens when their secret side hustle turns into your unpaid second job? One employee has reached his breaking point after repeatedly covering for his coworker Ryan, who has allegedly been spending much of their shared workday completing tasks for another full-time remote employer.
What started as occasional missed deadlines and unfinished assignments eventually became a pattern that forced the original poster to stay late and pick up work that was never his responsibility. When he finally confronted Ryan, the coworker showed little remorse and argued that they received the same salary anyway. Fed up with carrying the extra workload, the poster began documenting the incidents and reported them to management. Now Ryan is furious, accusing him of betrayal, while other coworkers question whether reporting him was necessary.
My Coworker Ryan And I Are Supposed To Split Our Workload Evenly, But Lately I Have Been Doing Far More Than My Fair Share While He Somehow Manages To Disappear For Hours
At First, I Tried To Be Patient And Assume He Was Overwhelmed, But The Missed Deadlines, Unfinished Assignments, And Constant Requests For Me To Cover His Tasks Became Impossible To Ignore
I Cannot Understand Why I Am Being Expected To Mind My Own Business When Ryan’s Decisions Were Directly Affecting My Workload, My Time, And My Ability To Complete My Own Responsibilities
After Reporting Ryan For Making Me Do His Work While He Secretly Juggled Two Full-Time Jobs, I Thought The Worst Of The Workplace Drama Was Finally Behind Me
Unfortunately, The Peace Did Not Last Long Because Our Manager Soon Called Both Of Us Into A Meeting To Discuss The Situation And Hear Ryan’s Side Of The Story
I Asked Him How We Were Supposed To Resolve Anything Privately When His Idea Of Compromise Was Expecting Me To Do His Job While He Spent Our Shared Work Hours Working For Another Employer
To Make Matters Worse, A Couple Of Coworkers Have Suddenly Become More Distant, And I Suspect Ryan Has Been Telling Them His Own Version Of Events To Make Himself Look Like The Victim
Wondering what Reddit thinks? Let’s take a look.
Although the original poster finally has management’s attention, the situation is far from resolved. His manager has asked him to submit all his documentation and explicitly instructed him not to cover Ryan’s work unless those tasks are formally assigned to him. That decision offers some relief after weeks of carrying responsibilities that were never his to begin with. However, Ryan’s reaction suggests that he is more concerned about the consequences of being exposed than about the burden he placed on his colleague.
By accusing the poster of making things unnecessarily complicated, Ryan continues to frame himself as the victim, while some coworkers have reportedly begun distancing themselves from the person who raised the issue. Despite the awkward atmosphere, the poster remains confident that reporting the truth was the right decision. Now he must navigate the fallout while hoping management will address the problem fairly and prevent further retaliation.
