Man Labeled the 'Office Villain' for Not Telling His Coworkers How Much His Side Hustle Makes Him
A man's refusal to share details about his side hustle income led to office tension and accusations of secrecy
Coworkers made sarcastic remarks and demanded transparency, turning a simple lunch conversation into workplace drama
The man stands his ground, asking Reddit if he's wrong for keeping his freelance earnings privateA man is seeking support from the Reddit community after a seemingly innocent question from a coworker led to office drama and accusations of arrogance.
The 27-year-old, who works full-time in an admin role, shared that his side hustle in digital design has recently started to take off, saying, 'It started as a hobby but recently it's been growing fast. I'm making more from freelancing than I do from my actual job some weeks.'
He explained in his post that he never brought up his freelance work at his day job, but things changed after a coworker followed him on Instagram and noticed his posts about client projects. 'She asked about it at lunch, and I just said, 'Yeah, I do some freelance on the side,' ' he recalled.
The conversation quickly turned awkward when the coworker pressed him for details about his rates and earnings. He tried to keep things light, responding, 'Enough to keep me busy,' but soon realized that his answer wasn't enough to satisfy his colleagues' curiosity.
After that lunch, the office dynamic shifted, and he started to notice a 'weird vibe' among his coworkers. He described how some begin making sarcastic remarks, like, 'Must be nice to have side hustle money,' and, 'You probably don't even need this job, huh?'
The jokes don't stop there. Others suggest he should buy lunch for the team, and one coworker, whom he barely knows, even called him 'disrespectful' for not being transparent about his income, arguing, 'since we're all in the same struggle together.'
Feeling uncomfortable, he stood his ground and told his coworkers, 'My side income is none of their business,' but this only seemed to make things worse. He wrote, 'Now I'm being painted as arrogant and 'secretive.' My boss hasn't said anything, but I feel like I've become the office villain just because I didn't want to share my finances.'
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Seeking perspective, he asked the Reddit community, "AITA for keeping my side income private and not telling my coworkers how much I earn outside of work?'
The responses were swift and supportive, with one commenter offering a lesson for the future: 'From now on you say nothing about what you make. You don't even hint at it.'
Another user pointed out that side hustles are incredibly common and shouldn't be a cause for office tension. They wrote, 'People are allowed to work second jobs or have side hustles without snide remarks from coworkers. It's such a commonplace activity that I don't see why people bat an eyelid at this stuff."
For now, the man is left navigating an office environment where his financial privacy has become a hot topic, yet he stands by his decision to keep his side income to himself.
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