AITA for telling my coworker to stop printing personal stuff at work?

A worker shares a printer with a coworker, Jane, who has been printing personal documents like travel plans and tax papers. After her prints caused delays in an important report for a client, the worker asked her to stop. Jane brushed it off, and the office manager backed up the request. Now, Jane is upset and calling the worker a “snitch.”

‘ AITA for telling my coworker to stop printing personal stuff at work?’

I (34M) work in a small office where we all share one printer. It’s always been like an unspoken rule that the printer’s only for work things. Lately, my coworker Jane (29F) started printing her personal stuff. At first, it was just a recipe here and there or a page or two. But now, she’s printing huge stacks like travel plans, tax stuff, even coloring pages for her kids.

Last week, I had to print an important report for a client meeting, but her stuff jammed up the printer queue, and I got delayed. I asked her about it, and she just laughed, saying, she, didn’t think it’d be a big deal. I told her seriously she should print her personal things at home. She rolled her eyes and said I was being dramatic.

The office manager overheard and backed me up, but now Jane’s mad and barely talking to me. She’s also telling other coworkers I’m a snitch. AITA for asking her to stop using the work printer for her personal stuff?

These are the responses from Reddit users:

19×42 −  NTA. But how is it an unspoken rule? Either the printer can be used for personal documents or cannot be used. If she’s telling people that you’re a snitch, tell them that she put you behind schedule for a business meeting due to her using the office printer to print coloring books for her kids.

jessjimbob −  Personally, I believe that using a work printer is an employee bonus. However, it shouldn’t get in the way of actual work so NTA.

Mystery-Ess −  She’s a dummy. You do that kind of s**t at lunch when no one’s around LOL.

RooneytheWaster −  As a man who once printed the entire 4th edition D&D rulebook from a work printer – ESH. You s**k because using the work printer is a tiny benefit of working in a system designed to squeeze every penny of worth from employees for the absoulte minimum of recompense. She sucks because she was so brazen about it that it impacted your work, *and* she broke the unspoken rule that you rinse the company printer, but do it on the down-low

edebby −  NTA. Once her personal usage effected the quality of your or others’ work, and she waived it off, she was the AH. No one “snitched” in this case, the fact she even argued with you instead of cancelling her printing jobs asap, is what caused the manager to overhear your discussion. So even that was her fault. She shoudln’t steal from her work place, and delay the work of others for her personal stuff.

quoole −  NTA. I think the occasional personal thing here and there is ok, but doing it a lot, and at the detriment of someone trying to use the priner for actual work is not ok. Neither paper nor ink is free to the office, so I would also say it’s a pretty big liberty to take without permission! You also didn’t ‘snitch’, (accusing you of that also implies that she knew it was wrong), but you were talking to her about it when the manger overheard.

elseldo −  Unwritten rules are worth the paper they’re printed on from a company printer.

My3floofs −  NTA. If you need to print personal stuff, you do it when others are not around, come in early or stay late.

ConflictGullible392 −  ESH. Printing personal stuff on work computers is pretty standard — many people don’t have printers at home. I’m not sure what you mean there’s an unwritten rule not to.  It shouldn’t get in the way of you needing to print a report for work, however. You could have addressed it more narrowly — tell her not to print her personal stuff when someone else needs the printer for work, rather than not at all which isn’t your place. But yeah bringing it up in front of management was kinda an a**hole move.

HoneyCrispCrumble −  ESH – She should use it during off-times but also it’s not like you personally buy the printer/toner. Now the office manager has their eye on it & no one can use it to print stuff like Dr. Authorizations or other important forms.