A healthy and pleasant working connection with your coworkers is crucial for a productive and happy professional environment. Read the story below to know what happened in this workplace and how would you deal with the situation?
Source: Reddit
Disclaimer, this was about 7 years ago, so the conversations are summarized and not 100% word for word.
I used to work in a call center where everyone had little cubicles. You could chat with people on either side or behind you if things got slow, but anyone on the other side of the divider was sort of hard to see or chat with. (Only important because Karen was in this hard to see location from me)
I have issues with overheating, medical stuff. I liked to sit right under the AC vent. Nobody fought me for this, because it was a little too cold for most people. Well, being a woman, this meant that sometimes I had some nipple pokey issues on some days. It’s perfectly natural, and to most people, not noticeable because it was under my shirt + bra.
Karen notices this and makes a report to HR.
The HR woman and my direct supervisor PARADE me through the cubicles and into their office, to question me about my nipples. Now, I could have thrown a fit about this to begin with, since we didn’t actually have a dress code and it’s none of their damn business. They asked me to prove I was wearing a bra, so I showed them the straps. They told me “good enough” basically, and to go back to my desk.
I refused to go back. I said I needed to place a complaint about someone. They asked me who I was reporting. I said “I don’t know, but YOU do. I want to report whoever it was that’s been staring at my breasts all day. Now that I know someone is staring, I feel like this is a hostile work environment.” They acted like I was joking at first, until I said “If you don’t have a talk with them, I will go over your heads and report you for forcing me to reveal my bra to you.”
I got escorted back to my desk, and Karen was sitting there looking smug… until they escorted HER to the HR office instead. I don’t know what happened to her in the office, and I didn’t care- they did their part by having their talk with her. All I really wanted was to know WHO did it.
Since it was a very slow day, all my co-workers started asking me what that was all about. Office gossip, you know. I told everyone exactly what had happened, and added that Karen must be fascinated with my breasts since she noticed (everyone else confirmed they didn’t even notice). When she came back from HR, every person in the room knew what she had done, and was glaring at her.
Snitches didn’t get stitches, and didn’t get fired either. But, they got treated like the Karen they were. Nobody would talk to her. People would be chatting, see her come try to join the conversation, and go silent and turn away from her. Some people made “loud whispers” and made comments like “shhh, don’t say anything, she will report you!” She quit about 2 weeks later.
Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
