Employee swaps broken chair with coworker's chair, gets annoyed when coworker fixes it and won't return it: 'You can have yours back now'

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Aug 18, 2026 8:00 PM EDT

He should've made the effort himself.

As The Office memorably taught us, it is quite amazing the lengths that some coworkers can go to when it comes to being annoying and generally disrupting the workday with their unnecessary antics. Some people just can't go a day without starting drama, and many of us have had the misfortune of being in the same workplace as them. Keeping your cool can become something that needs to be added to your job description.

When job candidates talk about being able to work under pressure and adapt to their environment in their applications, they usually aren't referring to dealing with the idiosyncrasies of their colleagues. Nonetheless, the beauty of transferable skills is that they can be put to the test in situations where we may not expect to use them. The best way to deal with a coworker who is acting up is to find a professionally appropriate way of getting back at them. It might not be the kind of workplace experience that can be proudly displayed on a resume, but it is still a valuable achievement if you can get it right. This is the dumber cousin of those dreaded office politics.

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  • Cheezburger Image 10656999168
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Back view of a male employee sitting at a desk in an office chair. Still frame for contextual reference only.


     

  • An employee was baffled to come into work one day and find that the chair at his desk was different. When he tested it, he realized it was more comfortable than his old one, but also slightly broken.

    As a result, he decided to fix the fault and continue using the chair. The colleague who had swapped chairs with him then proceeded to ask for the chair back, but he refused the request. This coworker tried to appeal to the manager about this issue, but his mistake had already been made.

  • Am I wrong for not returning a co-worker’s chair that he put in my cubicle when it was broken, but I fixed it?

    So this morning, I walked into my office and when I sat down in my chair, I noticed that it was different. A little bit more comfortable, which was nice, but I soon realized that it wasn't my chair. I also noticed that one of the arm handles was extremely loose, almost rotating 90 degrees and about to fall off. I looked at the side of the loose
    via Mata187
  • handle and saw that one of the bolts had come off the main frame of the chair. Now I have two options. 1) swap this chair out with someone's chair in the office or 2)fix the chair and continue to use it.
    via Mata187
  • I decided to fix this new comfy chair. I went into our work area, grabbed an allen wrench, and secured the handle back to the frame. I also tighten all the other bolts, nuts, and the wheels too. So while I lost my original chair, I gained a better one.
    via Mata187

  • The culprit of the chair switch was soon identified.

    An hour passed and Charlie (46M) walked back into the office. The thing about Charlie is he suffers from a TBI from his time in the military. He some times isn't always thinking things through, is constantly questioning everything he has to do no matter how simple the task is, and he is always thinking the world is against him. When
    via Mata187
  • Charlie thinks he won a battle/argument/conflict, etc, he gets this smirk on his face that makes you want to punch him. So when Charlie walked into the office, he had that smirk on his face because he thought he pulled a fast one, but that smirk disappeared when he saw that the handle on the chair was fixed. This is where the drama starts.
    via Mata187
  • Charlie then brings back my original chair and says "hey man, thanks for fixing my chair. You can have yours back now." I told him no that this chair is mine now and he can have my old one.
    via Mata187

  • Charlie wanted to claim the chair was his personal property.

    Charlie went on to say how he ordered that chair specifically for himself and that he needs it to do his work comfortably. When I asked for proof that it was bought with personal funds, he said it was bought it through the GSA card for the office. So, that meant the chair is an office chair and not a
    via Mata187
  • personal chair. I also asked why didn't he fix the chair himself? Charlie answered he didn't know how. Which is funny because he's a maintenance guy and we have all sorts of tools in the work area where he could've looked for something if he took the time. He asked again and I answered again, no.
    via Mata187

  • He felt that management would be sympathetic.

    Charlie went on a rant about respect and fairness for a bit before going to the manager's office. I got called into the manager's office through a Teams message. When I walked in, Charlie had that smirk on his face again. When the manager asked why I stole Charlie's chair, I calmly gave a play by play of what happened. That's when Charlie tried to step in but the manager didn't let him.
    via Mata187
  • Finally, the manager asked "are you willing to give Charlie's chair back to him?" I answered no because he left it broken in my cubical broken, I fixed it, and now I want to keep it. The manager sided with me and Charlie storms out of the office ped off at the world. AITAH here?
    via Mata187
  • A male employee sitting at a desk with a computer and laptop runs his fingers through his hair.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    A male employee sitting at a desk with a computer and laptop runs his fingers through his hair. Models pictured are not representative.


     

  • People didn't think that Charlie deserved to get away with it.

    Carradee NTA. Where was Charlie's respect for you and your property when he took your chair and gave you his broken one in the first place? He's flunking basic personal responsibility for his own actions.
    via Carradee
  • Leucastic_Leopard NTA. If Charlie ever steals it "back" I highly recommend covertly "breaking" it in the way it was when it was gifted to you. Then just repair it when Charlie inevitably regifts it to you.
    via Leucastic_Leopard
  • Status_Reflection993 No lol. Who steals someone's perfectly good chair, swaps it with their broken one.. then acts like its all hunky dory cause they want to now return the stolen chair now that the chair they abandoned got fixed.. NTA. that guy is tho. I'd personalize the chair.
    via Status_Reflection993

  • Charlie faced the consequences of his own actions.

    Bubbly_Concern_7522 NTA. Charlie f'ed around and found out.
    via Bubbly_Concern_7522
  • Bodacious Vermin Charlie's now known by your manager to have generated some unnecessary office drama. Fairly petty stuff, too. You're certainly NTA. He's a
    via BodaciousVermin

  • He should have thought ahead.

    mcgee00 Nta, what did he think was going to happen? Hes TA for swapping chairs like he did. Wonder why he choose you.
    via mcgee00

  • Management could have responded differently.

    HamRadio_73 NTA. If I were the manager I would have reprimanded the complainer and commended OP for repairing company equipment at no expense.
    via HamRadio_73
  • votemarvel NTA but you realise he's just going to swap the chairs like he did last time.
    via votemarvel
  • Dizzy-Cup1512 No you are totally in the right. How many times a day does it take to wipe the smirk off his face before he finally realizes maybe the problem is him and his smirk? Apparently more than two! Lol Good Luck and you handled it the right way too!!
    via Dizzy-Cup1512

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terrible coworkers office chair employee work stories
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