The Cost of Being Everyone’s Backup Plan

I was sitting in a meeting when my phone buzzed with a reminder for another meeting I was supposed to be in… at the same time. I thought, “Damn, how am I going to handle this?” Then I remembered a colleague, let’s call him Arun. Arun was reliable, calm under pressure, and always willing to step in.

I asked him to cover for me, and without hesitation, he agreed. The meeting went fine. In fact, it happened more than once. Arun became my backup plan. And, if someone can be my backup plan, they are probably someone else’s backup plan too.

That sounds flattering until you realise that being everyone’s backup plan comes with a cost.

Why I am sharing this, especially for those early in their careers

For people in the first one to two years of their career, this trap is dangerously easy to fall into. You want to make a good impression, so you say yes to everything. You become the reliable person, the safe pair of hands, the human fire extinguisher everyone calls when smoke starts rising.

And yes, it feels good. You get thanked in meetings. People say you “saved the day.” But while you are fixing someone else’s mess, your work quietly gathers dust. The big project that could make your career? Delayed. The course you wanted to take? Pushed back. Your name might be on everyone’s gratitude list, but it is missing from the promotion list.

The hidden cost

The obvious cost is time. The bigger cost is opportunity. Every hour you spend rescuing a crisis is an hour you did not spend building your wins. And here is the uncomfortable truth. People will not stop asking. Why would they? You have trained them to expect a yes.

It is like being the office’s spare charger. People will keep borrowing you until your battery is dead.

At Ergode, I have seen this happen to the best people

The most capable, committed people are often pulled in the most directions. And when you are good, the requests do not slow down.

That is why I tell my team. Block time for your own work and defend it like a meeting with your most important client. Learn to say, “I cannot take this right now” when it is not urgent or aligned with your goals. It is not about refusing to help. It is about making sure your “yes” is a choice, not a reflex.

Because if you do not protect your focus, someone else will fill it for you. And they will fill it with things that matter to them, not to you.

The takeaway

Being reliable is a strength. But if all you ever do is catch other people’s falls, you will never have time to climb higher yourself.

So learn this early. Being the backup plan for a few people is fine. Being the backup plan for everyone is a shortcut to burnout. Your career will thank you for every smart “no” you say. And when you do say “yes,” it will be because you chose to, not because you had no choice.Regards,
Rupesh