Coworker pettily sends out a team-wide email to confront an employee who made a minor mistake on the job: “They emailed the entire team of 90 people’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Aug 22, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

As the wise Hannah Montana once said: "Everybody makes mistakes, everybody has those days." The employee in this story left work keys used by all employees in a different spot than usual during one of their shifts, and the fallout was a team-wide email to 90 people calling them out on their slip-up. What happened to being cordial, to settling things before taking it to upper management? It seems like everyone wants to be a management pet nowadays. We underlings have to stick together, you know?

In all seriousness, misplacing keys isn't a big deal, especially if it's not a repeated offense. Do the employee's coworkers have the right to be a bit annoyed and reach out to him? Of course—but privately. They are well aware of the schedule and who likely had access to the set of keys last, so this email chain has got to be a power play of some sort.

The employee ends the tale with the sentiment that they likely won't be in trouble, but they are wondering about the next steps regarding the situation. To speak, or not to speak—that is the question. What would you do if you were in their position? Scroll to read the full story below.

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  • "This is the first time I've misplaced the keys or anything, and I've covered for other people's errors and given them the benefit of the doubt as a default." 38
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "Co-worker threw me under the bus in a team-wide email"

    Hi all, as the title suggests, I was thrown under the bus today by someone I work with side by side often. Although it was my fault, it
    via EvK444
  • was a fairly minor but annoying mistake and had no serious ramifications. I put some keys on the wrong shelf when working early shift and the next person
    via EvK444
  • couldn't find them for half an hour. The door they unlocked it is not something immediately vital to operations but annoying I'm sure all the same.
    via EvK444
  • Rather than email me and the guy I was working with, knowing we were the only two on, the person who couldn't find them emailed the entire team of 90 people,
    via EvK444
  • most of who never go to this site with an angry email asking where the missing keys were. The guy I worked with yesterday also did a
    via EvK444
  • reply-all saying he saw them on that shelf and wondered why on earth I left them there with a face palm and embarrassed emoji.
    via EvK444
  • a bunch of keys sitting on top of a shelf
    via Filip Szalbot
  • Now I know everyone would like to think they are a diligent worker who has attention to detail and supports their coworkers, but I
    via EvK444
  • genuinely believe I am. This is the first time I've misplaced the keys or anything and I've covered for other peoples errors and given them the benefit of the doubt as a default.
    via EvK444
  • I really doubt I'm going to get in trouble, I'm not worried about that but I have to work side by side with this guy tomorrow (we
    via EvK444
  • work on site in pairs so it's a long shift with just other person.) what would you guys say or do? Thanks for reading this far, I appreciate it.
    via EvK444
  • smalj 1990 Both of your coworkers are aholes - don't ever trust those two and def keeps your distance from them
    via smalj1990
  • EvK444 Thanks- yeah this is my plan from now on
    via EvK444
  • LuckyWriter1292 Don't say anything - it makes them look petty/worse...
    via LuckyWriter1292
  • EvK444 That's what I'm thinking- the one who sent the first aggressive email is like that in general but the second guy now just looks bad too. I haven't replied or said anything.
    via EvK444
  • DubaiBaby Yoda Trust me - most of the 90 people on your team are quietly now on your side. No one would see an email thread like that and agree with the sentiments of facepalm dude.
    via DubaiBabyYoda
  • jupfold Send a response email to this guy and CC your direct boss/manager: Hi coworker. My sincere apologies for the mistake. Next time you run into a problem, please reach out to directly so we can expedite fixing the issue.. Thanks.
    via jupfold
  • This: • Acknowledges the mistake • Offers a solution • Shows the other person as petty and also not a good problem solver You could even add: I don't think this is something we need to engage the entire company with But you do risk coming off as petty yourself.
    via jupfold
  • tisa2022 Why didn't you just text me?
    via tisa2022
  • tisa2022 Is what I would say to him. If anything.
    via tisa2022
  • EvK444 Legit, would've been quicker if they actually wanted a response and not a vent.
    via EvK444
  • No_Common_5644 i would literally quit over this lol
    via No_Common_5644
  • EvK444 Lmao, valid a few years ago I might have but I've got plans to only stay here a little bit longer anyway (want a change) so I won't give these two twits any satisfaction. If they were two important or respected people I might but they're kind of nobodies in the organisation.
    via EvK444

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terrible coworkers workplace-stories toxic-workplace email work coworkers reddit story petty workplace reddit thread company team entitled people toxic-work-environment
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