Boss steals employee's personal camera from his locker to take pictures for a company event: 'Our manager gave her my locker code.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
May 2, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

In what world is it okay to take from your employees without permission? 

It's hard to stand idly by and watch someone get away with antisocial behavior. It's not always easy to catch a thief or any other kind of petty criminal in the act. If your wallet is stolen, all you can do is cancel your credit cards and hope they don't figure out your debit card PIN. Most police departments aren't too concerned with catching the guy who stole your bike, because that's a lot of hard work, and objectively less important than finding other kinds of criminals. They'd have to check security footage, track down the guy, and find the lost bicycle, and in the grand scheme of crimes, that's usually not their priority unless you live in a sleepy town with the kind of dedicated police force you only see on TV. All cyclists can do is put more than one lock on their bikes and hope it doesn't get snatched up.

We like to think of thieving as something strangers do randomly, but that's not always true. A lot of the time, the people closest to us are the ones who steal from us, and it takes us a lot longer to notice because we trust them. I would not expect my friends to steal magnets from my fridge when I host a house party, and yet it has happened! It's important to be vigilant with your belongings and your bank accounts. You can't allow just anyone unfettered access to them.

The employee in this story locked up his belongings in his locker, and his boss still stole from him!

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  • Woman in black long sleeve shirt holding black dslr camera
    via Nick Sorockin

    The boss is taking pictures with her employee's personal camera without permission.

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

  • Am I the bad guy for being mad that my boss gave someone access to my locker to use my camera?

    So i'm standing there in the break room, coffee machine making that loud grinding noise, and she just drops the box on the counter like it's nothing
    via u/FrostFlamingo
  • Black and white wooden table and chairs
    via Quilia

    A typical office breakroom with coffee and a seating area.

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

  • it's my camera. well... was in my locker technically, but yeah i've been bringing it to work for like two weeks for a small side project, staying late editing clips and stuff. like i actually put time into it. a lot of time. i keep thinking about that
    via u/FrostFlamingo
  • and she goes "oh good you're here, i borrowed this for the company event pics yesterday" borrowed?? i didn't even know there was an event. i just stood there like... what
    via u/FrostFlamingo
  • turns out our manager gave her my locker code because "it's for work stuff anyway" which... no?? then she's smiling, showing photos, saying they might go on the website and she told them she took them
    via u/FrostFlamingo
  • and now everyone's acting like i'm overreacting about "sharing resources" i don't know. it still doesn't sit right at all AITJ
    via u/FrostFlamingo
  • A man sitting in front of a laptop computer
    via Sebastian Herrmann

    The employee feels stressed about his manager giving his locker code to his boss.

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

  • Top Philosopher 1809 That is stealing g. Your manager had no rig to offer your personal property not to mention the code to your locker. I would go to HR.
    via u/Top_Philosopher_1809
  • FrostFlamingo OP yeah that's what it felt like honestly the locker code part especially really threw me off i might actually bring it up with HR now
    via u/FrostFlamingo
  • CharacterActor What did they go through in your locker on their way to finding and taking your camera?
    via u/CharacterActor
  • Retired HomeEcTchr Yeah. Are you missing money or credit cards? Did someone take a photo of your license on their camera? Can you delete all the photos on your camera?
    via u/RetiredHomeEcTchr
  • WesternInspector 1904 That's your camera that was not funded by the company for them to use whenever they want. It's your camera that you paid with your money so they need to respect your property. Take it to HR so that it never happens again. And so your manager will not give your locker access to someone else
    via u/WesternInspector1904
  • Justanotherthrow4way Why did your manager have your code? It's good she saw you when she did, if I were you and it was missing I'd have called the police. It's called theft. Also report her to HR for going into your locker
    via u/Justan0therthrow4way
  • Outrageous-Arm 1945 NTJ. In 2026, why did the manager not quickly text you, to ask to borrow it, or, even if he did believe that was acceptable behaviour, to let you know they were borrowing it? Because he knew it wasn't acceptable and decided it was simpler to take it and apologise later. How about you go into his office now, and 'borrow' whatever you fancy?
    via u/Outrageous-Arm1945

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Tags

boss manager stealing locker events camera borrow human resources company break room
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