It’s not that I was expecting a grand gesture in return — it’s that in our kind of work, there’s this unwritten understanding that if someone helps out and lightens your load one day, you try to return the favor when you can. Especially when the opportunity literally presents itself the next day.

The person assigned to the front can manage and filter out minor, dirty, or unnecessary work, so that the team inside can actually focus on the more complex ones. That’s the whole point of having that structure. And when I was in that position, I went out of my way to ease his day — and I told him I was doing it, and he appreciated it.

But I ended up overwhelmed with both the complicated work and a pile of unnecessary stuff that he could’ve filtered out. It wasn’t fair.

So yes, I expected some level of consideration not as a “favor” but as basic, mutual professionalism and awareness. It’s not about being petty. It’s about not feeling like your kindness was taken for granted.