'AITA for secretly recording my coworker sabotaging me? Everyone is mad at me for exposing them.'
"AITAH for secretly recording my coworker sabotaging me and now everyone is mad at me for exposing them?"
Alright, I need some perspective because this whole situation has spiraled out of control, and somehow I am the bad guy.
I work in a small office where most people are fine except for this one guy, Brad.
Brad is that coworker. He is always loud, always knows better, and loves throwing others under the bus to make himself look good. We are both up for the same promotion, which would be fine, except he has been getting shady about it. For weeks, I have been noticing that things on my desk go missing. Important files, client notes, even random office supplies.
At first, I thought I was just being forgetful, but then another coworker casually mentioned that Brad has been hanging around my desk when I am not there. Then, last week, I overheard him joking in the break room about “creating opportunities” for himself. That was the final straw. I decided I needed to know for sure.
I set up my phone to record while I went to lunch. When I reviewed the footage, there was Brad, digging through my desk, taking one of my files, and snapping pictures of it with his phone. I did confront him directly. Showing him the video, and then tried to see what he had to say. He basically incriminated himself, and talked about how he did not like me.
I gladly recorded all of this, and, I sent the footage to HR, thinking they would deal with it quietly. HR did handle it, but now everyone in the office knows, and somehow I am the one people are mad at. Some of my coworkers are saying I invaded Brad's privacy and should have talked to him instead of going to HR. Brad got written up, lost any chance of the promotion, and had to apologize to me.
But now he is playing the victim, telling everyone I “set him up” and saying that recording him was underhanded. Some people are even siding with him, claiming I made the office environment toxic by exposing him. I just do not get it. Brad was sabotaging me and risking my career, and I gave HR the proof they needed to stop him.
I did not set him up. I caught him doing something he should not have been doing in the first place. Am I seriously in the wrong here? All I wanted was to stop someone from screwing me over. It feels like people are mad at me just because I handled the situation instead of letting him get away with it. What else was I supposed to do?
The internet did not hold back one bit.
Significant-Job-8893 wrote:
NTA...he handed you a chance to make "an opportunity for yourself." Are they mad at him for sabotaging you to knock you out of the running of a promotion? Also, did HR tell the other coworkers? It's likely that Brad told them all and downplayed his actions that led y'all to this point. F-- them all. Remember, your coworkers aren't your friends.
DerpDevilDD wrote:
No, you're NTAfor reporting someone for going through your desk and trying to f--k you over. You invaded his privacy? He invaded your desk. ffs. You work with alot of stupid people.
MossMyHeart wrote:
NTA and you need to go back to HR and let them know that Brad is creating a toxic work environment by spreading a false narrative in retaliation.
Picklesmcpickle wrote:
I think Brad is lucky he wasn't fired. I mean how can he not have created a hostile workplace? How's your mental health? If you DON'T get the promotion, how can it not feel this would be the cause?
blueberryxxoo wrote:
NTA Handle it on your own how? He probably would have laughed in your face had you confronted him. And who knows how much damage he did or could have done. This will blow over. I wouldn't worry about it. Be nice to everyone and if asked just say the truth. He was trying to sabotage your career and you had no choice but to report it.
twinbeliever wrote:
Looks like Brad didn't learn his lesson and is creating a hostile work environment. Also, your coworkers are idiots. You set him up, how? By somehow forcing him to steal stuff and sabotaging your career? It sounds like you coworkers don't actually care about who's right or wrong. They are friends with him more than you so they will say anything to justify their lack of morals.
Yale0081 wrote:
NTA to those that defend it or say, it was an invasion of his privacy, probably have done or thought doing similar things is fine, therefore don’t see the consequences as justifiable because they couldn’t handle those consequences if they faced them themselves.
WhyAmIStillHere86 wrote:
NTA. Brad is lucky he wasn’t fired for going through your desk and taking pictures of important documents. You could have accused him of being a corporate spy. Email HR again and let them know that Brad is retaliating against you by creating a hostile work environment.
stroppo wrote:
NTA at all. Sounds like you have some lousy coworkers. It was one of them who let slip about Brad's activities, so it sounds like the office atmosphere is already toxic. You were hardly "invading Brad's privacy"; he was the one going thru your desk! Maybe talk to your supervisor about it. HR doesn't act unless it's a legitimate problem.
cynical_overlord1979 wrote:
Absolutely NTA. Are you 100% sure that everyone is mad you you/blaming you, rather than making sympathy noises in the general direction of a psychotic workmate who has now been exposed as psychotic (just to vaguely keep him on side)? And/or do people actually even know what happened?
Or are you in one of those incredibly toxic offices/occupations where people think it is normal to sabotage each other and are shocked that they may now get in trouble for doing so? I would not be at all surprised if people are pleased you did this except for maybe 1 person who has been in Brad’s ear, but are trying to make it sound like everyone thinks you’ve done wrong.
MonteChristo85 wrote:
NTA.
I don't know when society made this switch so that the person that calls out a problem is someone worse than the person actually perpetrating the problem. It's so weird, and punishes the victims who try and stand up for themselves.