AITA for quitting my job after a huge windfall and not helping my coworkers?

A Reddit user shared their story of quitting their job after an unexpected six-figure poker win. They left their stressful workplace almost immediately, only to face backlash from coworkers who felt entitled to parting gifts or cash contributions. The user wonders if they were wrong for not making a goodwill gesture on their way out. Read their story below.

‘ AITA for quitting my job after a huge windfall and not helping my coworkers?’

A few weeks ago, I played poker on Stake just for fun, not expecting much. Somehow, I hit an insane streak of luck and walked away with a life-changing wi —six figures. It’s more money than I’ve ever seen in my life, and it felt surreal. I decided to make some big changes, starting with quitting my stressful corporate job that I’ve hated for years.

The moment that money hit my account, I typed up my resignation and gave HR a two-day notice. I couldn’t wait to walk out. When word got out that I had won, my coworkers started jokingly (or maybe not) asking for things like free coffee for the office or a catered farewell party.

Some even said I should give them cash gifts since I was “abandoning” them. They weren’t serious at first, but when I left without doing anything extra, the mood shifted. People were texting me, saying I was selfish and that I should’ve left on better terms. One even said I should’ve at least donated to the office fund or left a thank-you bonus for the team since we all worked together.

I don’t think I did anything wrong. I worked hard in that job for years, dealt with rude clients and overtime without extra pay. My win had nothing to do with my job or coworkers—it was luck.

Why should I owe them anything? The money is mine, and honestly, it feels weird for them to expect anything from me. I feel like I was polite enough in my exit and didn’t owe them more than that. Still, their comments are getting to me. Was I a j**k for leaving like that without any gestures of goodwill? AITA?

Here’s what the community had to contribute:

childishbambina −  NTA your coworkers are just jealous douchebags.

Investigator516 −  NTA but six figures does not stretch far. Invest wisely. Your coworkers are jealous. How word got out may cause additional problems.

davekayaus −  Hopefully you have learned to keep your mouth shut when you come into an unexpected amount of money. The only reason ‘word got out’ is because you shared this. Enjoy your win and use it to set you both up for a comfortable life.

EnchantedMixture −  You won the money, not the office lottery. Leaving on polite terms was enough; the rest is their problem, not yours.

SillyChicklet −  There sure are a lot of aita readers getting huge windfalls lately and especially getting in some sort of ‘dispute’ with bosses and/or colleagues

Sodamyte −  I’m TA for wasting my time reading this fake garbage.. lol

utazdevl −  Didn’t happen. The poker tournament, the huge windfall, the resignation, the jealous coworkers, the texts, none of it happened. Give away was “my stressful corporate job”. Not how someone who has a stressful corporate job would describe their job.

Other clues were a random poker tournament that pays out 6 figures (buy in for something like that would make it anything but random), talk of donating to the “office fund” (have worked in offices for 25 years and have never heard of such a thing)

and the idea that a co-worker/non-owner would be expected to provide some kind of a “thank you bonus.” This is written like someone who has watched a few movies that had characters who had “stressful corporate jobs” and thought “what if…”

Live-Ice7323 −  NTA. You owe them nothing. That being said, you may want to keep a close eye on your expenditures otherwise the money will run out and you will be back to working again. Six figures.- even high six figures won’t get you very far for very long if you don’t have another source of income.

Spare_Lemon6316 −  What was ChatGPT’s commission on your winnings?

Kiefy-McReefer −  NTA – f**k ’em. Live your dream.

Was the user wrong for leaving without doing something extra for their coworkers after their windfall, or were their colleagues out of line for expecting handouts? How would you handle a sudden life-changing event in a work environment? Share your thoughts below!