Employee collects evidence and exposes two coworkers for attempted sabotage against her, boss kicks both of them to the curb: ‘They discussed ways to make me look bad in front of our boss’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jan 22, 2025 1:00 PM EST

Having enemies at the same level as you in the workplace is something folks don't warn you about nearly as much as they warn you about having a boss or supervisor as an enemy.

When you think about it, it makes more sense to have an enemy who has a similar status in your company—you are their direct competition. With a boss, they might be worried about you being their eventual replacement, but in this story's case, the targetted employee can rely on their boss to enforce the correct rules and kick workplace bullies to the curb.

The coworkers in this story got caught red-handed by their fellow targeted employee, who found emails she wasn't supposed to find. In these emails, the two coworkers discuss how to make this employee look bad, how she works poorly, speaks to clients poorly, and everything else under the sun. Instead of coming right out and tattling, the employee decided to collect evidence until the time was right. Then, she revealed her evidence folder to her boss, who did not have to see much to kick these coworkers to the curb. Scroll to read the entire story.

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  • 01
    "And while we were at it, I showed part of the messages where they made fun of me." 38
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    "The email I should never have read"

    This happened to me a couple of weeks ago, and I still don't know if I did the right thing. I need your opinion.
    via Emma5888
  • 03
    It was just another day at the office, nothing out of the ordinary. I was looking for a file on the shared system, when suddenly I saw something that wasn't mine: an email
    via Emma5888
  • 04
    from my coworker, Ana, with my name in the subject. The funny thing is that it wasn't addressed to me.
    via Emma5888
  • 05
    I should have ignored it, I know. But how do you do that when you see your name? I opened the email.
    via Emma5888
  • 06
    It was a chain between Ana and Laura, my only two colleagues on the team. It started with something simple, but what I read next froze me.
    via Emma5888
  • 07
    "Have you seen how she works lately? She always seems lost." "I laugh when she pretends to know everything in meetings. It's pathetic."
    via Emma5888
  • 08
    "If we keep saving her mistakes, how long do you think it will take for the boss to realize she's useless?" They had been talking about me for weeks. They
    via Emma5888
  • 09
    made fun of my work, how I talk to clients, even the times I asked for help. The worst part was reading how they discussed ways to make me look bad in front of our boss.
    via Emma5888
  • 10
    Can you imagine what that feels like? I trusted them. I always covered their shifts, helped with their tasks when they were late... and this was what I got in return.
    via Emma5888

  • The employee is evidence that no matter how good of an employee, coworker, and friend you are to people, some will take that good energy and spit it out right in front of your face.

    Aside from the fact that the emails sound like they were pulled out of a coming-of-age high school bully's playbook, this is not correct workplace behavior. This is harassment to an extreme degree, especially because the coworkers are plotting to sabotage the employee's role in the company. They aren't going to get very far with this sabotage—the employee is collecting evidence right under their nose, waiting to use it at just the right time.

    Two can play that game.

  • 11
    I closed the email and tried to keep working as if nothing had happened, but I couldn't. I felt like every look they gave me, every laugh, was about me. That night, I couldn't
    via Emma5888
  • 12
    sleep. My mind was going in circles: Should I say something? What if I confront them? Should I tell the boss? The next day, I decided to act strategically. I started documenting everything:
    via Emma5888
  • 13
    screenshots, ignored emails, messages that proved I was doing my job while they sabotaged me. I didn't want to fight, just protect myself.
    via Emma5888
  • 14
    Cheezburger Image 10457801216
    via Unsplash+ (Valeria Nikitina)
  • 15
    The opportunity came when Ana tried to blame me for a major mistake. She went straight to the boss saying I hadn't submitted a report. But I was ready. I pulled out the evidence: the email
    via Emma5888
  • 16
    where she herself admitted that she had forgotten to check it. And while we were at it, I showed part of the messages where they made fun of me.
    via Emma5888
  • 17
    My boss was stunned. He didn't say much at the time, but the following week, Ana and Laura were out of the company.
    via Emma5888
  • 18
    What I felt? A mix of relief and guilt. Should I have spoken to them before going to the boss? Was I right to keep evidence?
    via Emma5888
  • 19
    Sometimes I feel like I could have handled everything differently, but at the same time, I couldn't continue working under that toxicity.
    via Emma5888
  • 20
    Now, I wonder: what would you have done in my place? Would you have kept quiet? Would you have confronted your colleagues directly or
    via Emma5888
  • 21
    gone to the boss, like I did? Because, honestly, it still torments me if it was the right thing to do. What do you think?
    via Emma5888
  • 22
    Separate-Potato-... They created the toxic workplace. Sounds like you just did your job and defended yourself with proof that you did your job. That's guilt free karma if you ask me.
    via Separate-Potato-5649
  • 23
    howverysway I think you handled it well. You backed up yourself and your work. You didn't play dirty. You were professional. I admire you for not being caddy or malicious, actively trying to hurt them...as they did to you. You're a good person!
    via howverysway

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terrible coworkers aita workplace-stories jobs toxic-workplace AITAH job bad jobs work coworkers askreddit reddit story entitled people karma karens in the wild workplace reddit thread red flag Reddit entitled people toxic-work-environment
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