‘Is this legal??’: ‘Ultimate workplace hack’ reignites war between parents and childfree workers

A clip from an Australian podcast is again dividing childfree folks and parents after one host suggested inventing kids as a workplace hack. “Can We Be Real” host and comedian Meshel Laurie told a story about a coworker who dreamed up a son as an excuse to leave work early sometimes, and while she found it hilarious, not all viewers were amused.

The comment section for the TikTok video highlighting this part of the podcast episode quickly drew battle lines. While many childless workers liked the idea and complained that working parents get all the slack, said parents denied that anything about their lives is easier with kids.

‘If you don’t have a child, invent one for work’

The TikTok account for “Can We Be Real” (@canweberealpod) posted this clip on April 29, 2025, attracting over 1.9 million views so far. During a recent episode, Laurie talked about how she found out that a coworker’s kid was fictional.

@canweberealpod

The ultimate workplace hack 👶

♬ original sound – Can We Be Real?

“I had a friend with an imaginary child,” she said. “His name was Jamie. There was a real Jamie, but he was a Yorkshire Terrier. We worked together and she would talk about, ‘oh God, that was the school, Jamie’s in sick bay, I’ve got to go.’ And it took a long time for her to confide in me… I’ve never laughed so hard in my life.”

Co-host Simon Baggs responded by claiming that “nobody can say anything” if a worker has to leave to care for their sick child.

“They have to say, ‘oh yeah, do your thing,’” he said.

Every worker has kids and four living grandparents

In the comments, at least initially, working folks jumped in to confess their own workplace fibs. Plenty said they have their own imaginary kids while others offered additional tips to get an easy day off.

“Also start every job with 4 living grandparents,” recommended @ilovedogs45685.

“I was a caregiver for my mom at the end of her life and she told me to make sure to use her as an ‘excuse’ whenever possible at work,” wrote @misskattari.

Those risking the imaginary kids hack suggest using photos of their friends’ offspring to make the lies more believable.

“My husband and I ‘adopted’ our friends kid,” said @yoga.cat.lady. “We take family pictures every time we visit.”

Childfree vs. childfull: Who has it better?

As time went on, the discussion inevitably led back to sniping between childfree users and parents. The childless soon began to complain that their reproducing coworkers get more leeway and even expect them to do more work to compensate.

“But also the uncomfortable truth is parents get more leeway automatically, expecting childfree people to just be ‘available’ to pick up the slack,” commented @thismodeleatsalot.

“Hate that kids get you out of everything but I can’t leave 5 mins early despite working 2 hours overtime unpaid!” @gingerhamy complained. “But sally is never there cos her dam kid is always sick!!!”

Parents took exception to these remarks and made their feelings known in the replies.

“Yeah let’s live in a world where parents get fired every time their kid gets sick or needs them in any way, that sounds better,” joked @sunflowersnails.

“And guess who’s moving up the ladder while parents are sacrificing career progression and money? You,” said @jesschalmers.

This same debate has raged multiple times over the years, especially as fewer people have children and childfree people have become more vocal. In 2020, a lot of these workers complained that new workplace policies implemented over COVID-19 largely benefited parents and no one else. Salesforce, for example, offered six weeks paid time off—but only if you had kids.

When Facebook announced bonus pay for everyone regardless of hours worked, childfree employees who felt they labored more than their counterparts complained. In one comment, a childless worker claimed that getting time off was “easy breezy” for parents but a challenge for others.

Imaginary kid workplace hack results may vary

Workers should be aware that lying to your boss can get you in trouble. Misrepresenting your situation to get time off can even result in lawsuits. Plus, there’s another factor to consider—your gender.

There are a lot of strong opinions about whom society treats better—parents or childfree people. What we know for sure is that there is evidence pointing to who benefits most from having kids when it comes to work.

If you can get away with it, claiming to have kids as a man can get you time off and boost your career. According to the Gender Diversity Report 2017 by Hays, 24 percent of men get a promotion after having children. However, if you’re a woman, that number drops to 10 percent.

That gap may have something to do with how employers view mothers vs. fathers. In 2014, a research study by University of Massachusetts sociology professor Michelle Budig, she found that these attitudes bounced to opposite sides of the spectrum depending on gender.

“Employers read fathers as more stable and committed to their work; they have a family to provide for, so they’re less likely to be flaky,” Budig said. “That is the opposite of how parenthood by women is interpreted by employers. The conventional story is they work less and they’re more distractible when on the job.”

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