Office Employee Risks Being Judged By His Colleagues After Declining To Contribute $200 For A Co-worker's Baby Shower

"That's a lot of cupcakes"

Chelsi

• Published in Interesting
• May 3, 2023

The only thing worse than an office party is a forced and contribution-based office party. These are not mandatory most of the time, but some co-workers will judge you if you show anything other than enthusiasm.

A 29-year-old employee risked becoming the office pariah when he declined to contribute to his colleague's baby shower. OP's 35-year-old colleague is pregnant with her first baby.

She basically shared her journey to conceiving, and OP couldn't be happier for her. She is seven months pregnant now, which means her maternity leave is right around the corner.

Their co-workers took it upon themselves to plan a baby shower for her to celebrate the milestone. It will be just a small gathering during their lunch break so as not to be disruptive to the rest of their work day.

The two unofficial party planners approached OP about contributing $200 to the event. They promised to buy cupcakes, soda, a cake, and other food items to keep everyone happy.

OP said he is all for them celebrating but said that he is not willing to give money for the event. The party planners said OP's contribution will help make their colleague happy, and his participation is a great sign that he is a good co-worker.

OP frankly said that he doesn't care about their opinion of him

The two accused OP of being a selfish a**hole and promptly left

His girlfriend said he was wrong for what he did

She said it won't hurt him if he gave them the cash, but OP is still not convinced that he did anything wrong

That's a lot of money for an impromptu baby shower that you're not planning on attending

Most of OP's comments have been deleted after his account was suspended. Other commenters deduced that he may have misheard the amount since he was working when they approached him.

Still, no matter the amount, OP had no obligation to give his hard-earned money for a party at work

$20 is a reasonable amount to suggest, but no one should feel obligated to contribute at all

It would be an entirely different matter if OP didn't give any money and joined the celebration anyway. If that was his plan, then his co-workers are right to be pissed.

They can hint on an amount, but they shouldn't dictate how much money their colleagues have to donate

That's a nice gesture, but it really isn't mandatory

A sheet cake, some drinks, and a cute stuffed animal for the baby is more than enough

A commenter suggested that OP lied about being asked to give $200 because he would look bad for declining to donate a much smaller amount

Then again, the amount isn't the issue here. OP was being pressured to contribute to a party that's not necessary.

Is OP a manager? Is that why they want him to share that much?

The commenters said that OP isn't wrong for declining to contribute, but he could have been nicer on his delivery

As long as OP doesn't attend the party or ruin it for everyone else, he didn't really do anything wrong. Should he have been more cordial in his response? Absolutely.

However, no one should feel forced to give out their hard-earned cash to avoid the judgment of their co-workers. OP was ultimately voted not the a**hole by the Redditors before his account was suspended.

Chelsi