Overworked employee refuses to take over coworker's tasks after he leaves work early one too many times, boss gets involved: ‘I already have my own workload’

We all struggle with maintaining a workload that we can handle, and there are many factors we take into consideration when we build our work schedule. It's important not to overload ourselves, not to take on tasks that are outside our job description, while still doing enough to prove ourselves to our bosses and ensure we get to keep our jobs.

If we try to add on top of all that the workload of a coworker, the whole delicate system can crumble.

The employee in the story below made the mistake of agreeing to take over a coworker's tasks when they left work early one day, and before they knew it, it became a habit. The coworker would leave work hours before the shift ended, and expect this employee to simply do his job for him.

After that happened a few times, the employee put their foot down and refused to encourage this behavior any longer. This led the entitled coworker to turn to the boss and complain about the employee's refusal to "be a team player". As if he were the poster child of a team player…