Many of our colleagues and other folks at work - regardless of their actual age - are sometimes like toddlers. At least in terms of constantly testing boundaries - what they may and may not do. While this is perfectly reasonable for kids just learning about the world, it's simply unacceptable for adults.
The story we're about to tell you today, from the user u/Serious-Court3252, actually tells of one such case. About a grown man who, for some reason, decided that his good relationship with a coworker allowed him to rummage through her belongings. However, let's just cut to the chase.
More info: Reddit
Being friendly at work is sometimes a must for a healthy atmosphere in the team, but some coworkers actually consider this a "weakness"
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author of the post works with a 31-year-old guy called "Martin," and they had a great relationship until recently
Image credits: Serious-Court3252
Image credits: New Africa / Freepik (not the actual photo)
For instance, the author used to help Martin with a phone charger as he was really forgetful of his one
Image credits: Serious-Court3252
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
So recently, after returning from the restroom, the author unexpectedly found Martin literally two hands in her purse
Image credits: Serious-Court3252
The guy said he was just looking for her charger, but the author ended up filing a report about this to HR anyway
The Original poster (OP) tells us that she works on the same team with a 31-year-old guy named "Martin," and they have a fairly good, even friendly, relationship. They communicate well, and the author usually helps out the colleague with his phone charger, which he regularly forgets.
In short, they're almost friends - at least within the office - but a recent incident effectively put an end to their nice relationship. It all started when the original poster returned from the restroom one day - just to find Martin literally two hands in her own purse!
The OP was literally mortified and asked him what he was doing. Confused, the guy tried to justify himself by saying he urgently needed a charger and, since the author wasn't in the room, assumed he had the right to find it in the purse. The author reasonably pointed out that this didn't give him any right to rummage through other people's things.
According to the OP, she sometimes carries many quite intimate items in her purse, and she found the situation so outrageous that she reported Martin to the higher-ups, and the guy got into trouble over it all. The colleagues mostly sided with him, claiming that the author had clearly overreacted. So she decided to ask netizens for advice.
Image credits: vtopstylist1 / Freepik (not the actual photo)
You know, the neologism "frolleague" has recently become firmly established in contemporary language. It refers, as you've probably already guessed, to colleagues with whom people develop a relationship that's almost friendly - but still limited to the office or workplace.
"Frolleague relationships are expansive, originating from a shared professional passion and evolving to incorporate everything else," Urban Dictionary says about the word. "This is why we love frolleagues so much." On the other hand, does being a frolleague actually mean they're allowed to look through our personal belongings? The answer is clearly a resounding no.
After all, no matter how trusting and warm your interactions with a colleague may be, you should always maintain professional decorum when you're at work. "Keep your relationships professional. As it may be to become best friends with colleagues, it can lead to blurred boundaries and problems later on," this dedicated article at Positive Psychology claims.
In fact, this is exactly what happened to Martin, who apparently decided he was being allowed too much. So people in the comments also supported the author, noting that she was simply upholding her personal boundaries, nothing more. "I would expect to be fired if I was caught red-handed in a coworker's purse," someone reasonably added. So do you also agree with this point of view?
The author's coworkers mostly sided with Martin, but the netizens were unanimously on the author's side
