Miami hedge fund partner who set the tone for a party-hard workplace culture reported an employee to HR over a harmless doodle of his coworker and dragged it out for two weeks

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Apr 28, 2026 6:00 PM EDT

Setting the tone for a workplace culture and then penalizing people for living in it is a special kind of management failure

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  • It requires a person who genuinely doesn't see the connection between their own behavior and everyone else's, which is either a stunning lack of self-awareness or a very deliberate double standard depending on how generous you're feeling.

  • Confident young businessman in dark suit and red tie posing outdoors with arms crossed.
    via Ali Morshedlou

    Young businessman in a dark suit and red tie stands confidently with arms crossed outdoors.

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

  • Partner of Firm Called HR On Me & My Coworker

    I've been working at a hedge fund in Miami for around 2 years...
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  • I have a coworker who was recently promoted to being a partner. He 100% deserves this as he is always working. I'll refer to him as, "the partner."
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  • The partner is interesting, though... I think he has unfortunately blurred the lines between being professional vs, unprofessional.
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  • He & my other coworkers have gone out a few times in New York & Miami. After last year's holiday party he invited everyone out to go clubbing.
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  • A bunch of us were there until close to 4AM, wasted. It was a really fun time.
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  • Businessman in black suit sitting outdoors at table with thoughtful expression.
    via M_pxio

    Man in a black suit sits at a table outdoors, looking serious and thoughtful.

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

  • Recently though, my other coworker and I were off at work. I'll call him, "A." | ended up sketching a silly drawing of the partner & A. It
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  • was nothing inappropriate, just banter. For context, the drawing was of A in jail, whereas the partner was enjoying a cocktail outside of
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  • his cell... It sounds bad, but A is always making self- deprecating jokes about hating his life. He's a dark humor type of guy. A thought it was funny.
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  • I will admit that it was silly/immature of us, but given the environment that the partner has created, we assumed it was fine and he
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  • would laugh as he knows A pretty well & sort of knows his humor. the partner is always yelling at A in front of the rest of the office, by the way. He comes off as very disrespectful from time to time.
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  • That was not the case... The partner ended up seeing the drawing I sketched and he not only told my manager, but also had a meeting with us as
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  • he cursed off and demanded an explanation for the drawing... The partner claimed that after he saw it, he
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  • couldn't sleep at night. He also eventually complained to HR, which caused for A to get in even more trouble.
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  • This sh went on for weeks. It was seriously dragged out as by the time the partner decided to tell HR, this had been 2 whole weeks in the
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  • The rules in any workplace are mostly unwritten and people learn them by watching whoever's in charge. When that person is staying out until 4AM with the team at the club, the lesson being taught is that this is the kind of place where people loosen up and have fun together. That lesson gets absorbed. People adjust their behavior accordingly. Then when someone draws a harmless doodle during a slow afternoon and the same person who set that whole tone loses sleep over it and escalates to HR, the disconnect is not subtle.

  • making. It was absolute torture not knowing what would happen and if the partner would actually escalate this.
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  • At that point, even my manager felt the entire situation was ridiculous as she knew my intentions were not malicious in drawing this
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  • The ego bruise explanation is almost always the right one in situations like this. A sketch that pokes gentle fun at someone who publicly yells at a coworker in front of the entire office, organizes team clubbing nights, and reportedly doesn't handle criticism well, that's not an HR matter. That's a person encountering a very mild version of the energy they put out and not enjoying the experience.

  • sketch. She told me it was unprofessional, but she didn't fail to mention that the partner is a for blowing it out of proportion &
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  • telling HR... The wild part is that the sketch contained nothing inappropriate or offensive about the partner.
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  • Finance culture already has a complicated relationship with the line between professional and unhinged. Hedge funds in particular tend to run on a blend of extreme pressure, outsized personalities, and an unspoken understanding that normal workplace decorum gets stretched in both directions. People scream about losses and celebrate wins loudly and the whole environment operates at a higher temperature than most. Doodling during downtime isn't even in the same zip code as remarkable behavior in that context.

  • My manager and I talked about the issue with the partner. It stems from the fact that half the time he acts as
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  • though we need to be professional & the other half of the time we have all seen him sloppy drink at the club.
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  • This is why A & I felt it was all fun and games in the office when we had some down time.
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  • We also came to the conclusion that the partner's ego was somehow bruised from my sketch as maybe he took it the wrong way? We feel this way thanks to his
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  • The manager calling the whole thing ridiculous is the clearest signal that something went sideways here. When the person responsible for actually managing the situation thinks the escalation was the problem and not the drawing, the drawing was probably fine.

  • over-the-top reaction & the way he clearly wanted us to get in trouble. It is also known at the firm that the partner doesn't take critics well and tends to think he is always right.
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  • My overall consensus on the partner now that I've had a few experiences with him has changed. For him to blur the lines when it comes to having
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  • Two weeks of HR tension over a sketch is a lot. The sketch didn't even include anything offensive about the guy.

  • been confusing for all of us- My manager included. We feel he is not only a , but also comes off as unprofessional with the way he yells at A, and invites all of us to go clubbing with him.
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management workplace discussion employment issues boss workplace-stories hr coworkers colleague
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