‘I think we’re friends,’ says woman after colleague asks for her bonus – she spends freely and doesn’t have kids, so she doesn’t need it

Work friendships can be comforting — until they make you question everything. Like when someone asks for your bonus. Not because you quit. But because you have no children.

That’s exactly what happened to one woman, who posted her story on the r/EntitledPeople subreddit under the headline: “My co-worker asked me to give her my bonus because I don’t have kids – what should I do?”

At first she laughed. It had to be a joke. But his colleague, the mother, “deadly serious.”

“His point was that I have no responsibilities and it seems like I’m always spending and it’s not necessary like he is,” the woman wrote. “And he acts like me anyway.”

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The request froze him in place – teabag midair – and felt like a shocking betrayal.

“I feel very used,” she said. “I think she used everything I told her against me, and took advantage of me being a good person.” Over the years, she filled in at early childcare pickups, took on extra work during mom’s difficult personal periods, and believed they really were friends.

“Now it feels like she was waiting for the right moment to see what she could squeeze out of me,” she continued. “Or is she literally a narcissist because in what world is it okay to ask someone else to do that?”

He described the exchange as “manipulative and almost threatening…how adamant she was about wanting it”.

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The divide between workplace parents and child-free workers

Such emotional consequences are not rare. According to a 2022 ResumeLab study, 72% of workers said they’ve seen child-free employees behave inappropriately at work. And while 67% also saw parental abuse due to caregiving conflicts, perceptions were clearly skewed in one direction: 74% of respondents—most of whom were parents—said that people with children are treated better in the workplace overall.

No sympathy for the mother

Commenters on the post did not hesitate to support the woman.

“I’d tell her no flat out, and not lift a finger to help her or cover for her in the future,” advised one.

“She decided to bite the hand that feeds her – or in this case, the hand covering her ass,” wrote another.

Others encourage drawing firm boundaries and moving on to management as the behavior continues. “If she presses it, talk to HR or management,” one said. “You’re right here.”

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One commenter offered a professional but direct response: “It’s grossly inappropriate and completely unprofessional for you to demand that of me. It’s not my responsibility to have your baby.”

Many could not believe the audacity to ask. “Who does that and expects a co-worker to pay them because they chose to have a baby?” one asked.

The consensus was firm: friendship doesn’t justify financial manipulation, and parenthood doesn’t entitle you to someone else’s paycheck.

“You earned that bonus,” concluded one user. “She can manage her own life.”

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The article ‘I Wish We Were Friends,’ Woman Says After Coworker Asks for Her Bonus—She Spends Freely and Has No Kids, So She Doesn’t Need It, originally appeared on Benzinga.com.

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