We Just Make That List For Fun

We take turns being on call. I live the furthest away — twice what anyone else does — so I try to do only my fair share. I will cover holidays only when I really have to.

I get a call one weekend.

Coworker: “Is this [My Name]?”

Me: “Yes, who is this?”

Coworker: “It’s [Coworker] from work. Can you pop in? We’re having issues with [machine].”

Me: *Sighing* “It’s not my turn on call this week. You can find the rota with the phone number in the break room.”

Coworker: “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

A little annoyed, as this isn’t the first time they’ve just called me before checking the rota, I go back to my weekend. Unfortunately, it’s not long before I get another call.

Coworker: “It’s [Coworker] again. I can’t reach [Coworker #2]. Can you come in?”

Me: “Did you try [Coworker #3]? It states on the sheet who to call next.”

Coworker: “Can’t you just come in?”

Me: “No, we have a rota for a reason. Please call [Coworker #3].”

I message [Coworker #3] to let him know to expect a call. He messages back letting me know that it’s not a problem and he is nearby. Then, I get another phone call.

Coworker: “Yeah, [Coworker] again. [Coworker #3] isn’t answering. I’ve talked to my boss and he says you need to come in.”

Me: “You know what? I will sort this out.”

I called [Coworker #3] who had not received any other calls but said he would head to work now. I called [Coworker]’s boss and explained what was happening. I said that he doesn’t tell me what to do on my weekend and that he needed to tell his team to follow process.

On Monday, my boss pulled me aside as there had been a complaint, but when I explained, it was dismissed. My coworker kept ignoring the on-call list and eventually got removed from the plan and lost a bit of cash out of it, too.