‘Why did you went through my belongings?’: Employee leaves her paychecks on personal office desk, only to discover her coworker found and showed them to the rest of the office

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jun 7, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Everyone wants to have a good relationship with their coworkers. Some employees spend more time with their coworkers than they do with their actual spouses, and being able to consider those people as great friends is extremely important to the work experience. That is why, like any other relationship in your life, you should treat your coworker with respect, so that you can all feel comfortable around each other in the office.

Unfortunately, that is not the case with the coworkers in this Reddit story. OP (original poster), took a day off and came back to the office only to discover that one of her coworkers went through her personal drawer at her office desk, and tore open her paycheck envelopes to look at them. Not only that, she then told other coworkers about what she found, and now OP feels completely exposed in her workplace.

Scroll down to read the rest of the story. After you are done, click here for a story of an employee who got their boss to admit they are cutting wages.

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  • 01
    "She went through my personal information"
    via Canva
  • 02
    My coworker went thru my personal draw at work and looked at my paychecks
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 03
    I work front desk in a doctors office. I took a personal day yesterday so one of my coworkers had to cover me which means she sat at my desk to check in people which is the
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 04
    routine thing to do when someone has off somebody else covers them. So, we got our paychecks on Friday and I leave All my paychecks in my draw next to my desk under things - basically
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 05
    hidden. So as I come into work today I was advised by my manager that this coworker had "found my paycheck and was discussing it with everyone". I told him that invades my
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 06
    personal space and she should be reprimanded for going thru my belongings and opening my paychecks and discussing it with all my other coworkers when I was not at work! And he
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 07
    pretty much told me it's my fault for leaving my paycheck in the drawer and next time I should lock it and she can't get in trouble. I'm completely enraged by this situation and I
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 08
    don't know whether or not I should say something to this coworker or just ignore her from now on. And is it right thag my manager pretty much said it was my fault? Sorry I guess this is sort of a rant but
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 09
    I'm baffled by this. This is my first time working in an office and I think it's unacceptable how someone can go thru my paycheck without me there and nothing gets done.
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335
  • 10
    marlonoranges · 1 day ago Your co-worker is completely in the wrong by looking at something that she knew was private then discussing it with others. Way way out of line.
    via u/marlonoranges
  • 11
    However...you've left personal information in a desk that is owned by your employer. Your co-worker, sitting at that desk, is using a workstation that she's entitled to use and the drawer at that desk. It isn't yours, it's office
    via u/marlonoranges
  • 12
    furniture provided by your employer for the use of whoever is doing the job. So in that respect you dont really have any expectation of privacy. I think your manager knows there's little they can do even if they sympathise with you.
    via u/marlonoranges
  • 13
    k1k11983 · 23 hr. ago She didn't just look at it though. She tore open the tabs of the unopened pay. check! In what world is that ok? That's no different than opening someone's mail and should be a fireable offence.
    via u/k1k11983
  • 14
    • Correct_Sometimes · 18 hr. ago it's not ok, but it's also really stupid to leave something like that in a public space. like this is such a basic concept and so easily avoidable in the first place.
    via u/Correct_Sometimes
  • 15
    it's not ok for me to steal something from your car but you're still not going to leave the doors opened and unlocked when you come inside, right?
    via u/Correct_Sometimes
  • 16
    16enjay 1 day ago Don't leave personal documents in an office desk drawer that accessible to other office staff
    via u/16enjay
  • 17
    • vavona 1 day ago I would also add, don't store anything personal on your work computer. Remote or not, it's their property and they can look at it at any time.
    via u/vavona
  • 18
    shannoncaffeine · 1 day ago Well the fact that she saw it or that you left it where it could be seen is irrelevant. Even if she saw it she should not be discussing it with everyone.
    via u/shannoncaffeine
  • 19
    eratoast 1 day ago • Do not leave any sensitive information accessible. Why are you leaving your pay stubs (I assume not actual checks) at work?
    via u/eratoast
  • 20
    Schmoe20 1 day ago I'd start looking for a different job and get some other perks (higher pay, better commute or something at the next job) and consider this my motivation to get on with it.
    via u/Schmoe20
  • 21
    Bec21-21 1 day ago . Nothing at work is private, this includes any electronics they may give you to use (phone, laptop, etc). Expect anything you do on a work computer or leave in the office to be seen by others.
    via u/Bec21-21
  • 22
    ManInACube 1 day ago There's a big difference between opening a drawer looking for a pen and opening and examining documents unrelated to any work you may be doing. Where I work I don't
    via u/ManInACube
  • 23
    know if it'd get me fired but at minimum I'd expect a verbal reprimand and a severe issue on the works well with others part of my performance review.
    via u/ManInACube
  • 24
    unders b 1 day ago Did they open a sealed envelope? I used to get ones you tear open on three sides so it'd be obvious if opened by someone else
    via u/unders**b
  • 25
    Massive-Variety-5335 OP. 1 day ago Yes my paystub wasn't even open and she tore the tabs opened and looked at it
    via u/Massive-Variety-5335

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coworkers employee job company entitled manager Reddit workplace paycheck personal space terrible coworkers reddit story workplace-stories tales-from-the-workplace
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