I Refused to Let Coworkers Steal From Me—Maybe I Overreacted

Workplace drama often takes on a whole new level and leave workers with stories that can be shared far and wide. But one of our readers didn’t think she would need to resort to petty revenge during her career. This is her story.

Elena reached out to us.

Dear Bright Side,

I recently started a new job at a relatively well known law firm. My boss, a very nice, older man, has reached the point where he decided to retire and decided to mentor me with the hope that I’d take his place in time.

It was a great honor to be considered for the position, since I had only graduated a year prior. The thing is, about two months into the job, my expensive pens started vanishing from my desk. And it kept happening continuously.

I had brought it up with my coworkers, but no one confessed. So I kept quiet and made sure that my pens were always accounted for. To be honest, I thought it was some kind of prank being pulled by one of them.

Or some type of initiation. I had even considered that I was just being forgetful and that I had misplaced them. But last week I ran out of pens, so I took the one my mom bought and had engraved for me for my birthday.

I kept my eye on it the entire day and paid special attention to all the fuss that was happening because of it. Many of my coworkers asked about it, while others made comments about how cool and expensive it was.

Then, when I came back after my lunch break, it was gone. I freaked out and accused them all of being thieves who couldn’t keep their fingers away from precious objects. It wasn’t my best moment but losing that special pen really brought out the worst in me.

That’s when I decided that it was time for me to find out who the culprit was. So I bought a disappearing ink pen, put it on my desk and waited, knowing it would vanish soon enough. Our boss came out and announced that we’d be having a meeting the next day.

By the time he left, the pen was gone. The next day, during the meeting, someone gasped loudly. I smirked and turned to see who it was. To my shock, it was my boss who had the disappearing ink pen in his hand.

The shock was too much for me to process. I couldn’t believe that the one person who I thought was on my side, was the one who was taking things from me. So after the meeting, I confronted him. He opened his drawer, revealing all my pens.

He said that he was starting to lose his memory, which is why he wanted to retire. He’d often walk around and grab a pen from the nearest desk, but then he’d forget where he took it from so he couldn’t put it back. It just so happened that my desk was closest to his office.

I was horrified, especially when I saw the looks my colleagues gave me when I left his office holding all the pens. Turns out they all knew but were keeping quiet because they didn’t want him to feel ashamed of his condition.

So Bright Side, was it wrong of me to freak out without knowing exactly what was happening? And was it wrong of me to confront my boss? How do I go back from this?

Regards,
Elena M.

Thank you for reaching out to us, Elena. We understand how difficult it must be to process all of this so we’ve put together a few tips that might be helpful.

Approach with empathy, not just facts.

You were shocked and hurt, that’s natural, especially since this was your first year, and you looked up to your boss. But now that you know the context, the next step is to frame your conversations around understanding rather than accusation.

You might say something like, “I understand things have been tough, and I want to support you as you transition to retirement. I also want to make sure I can keep my work organized and personal items safe.” This lets you set boundaries without making him feel attacked.

Use this as a chance to strengthen workplace communication.

Your coworkers were aware of your boss’s memory issues and stayed silent to protect him, which left you in the dark. Going forward, gently opening a line of communication could prevent similar situations.

You could suggest a shared office system for tracking important item so everyone, including your boss, can navigate the office without embarrassment. Framing it as a team-support solution will keep it professional and non-confrontational.

Repair your own peace of mind and professional image.

You’ve been worried about how colleagues perceived your confrontation, but the reality is, you acted out of genuine frustration. Now, take ownership of your response by explaining that your reaction was based on limited information.

A simple acknowledgment can help rebuild confidence and credibility. Pair that with subtle gestures of goodwill toward your boss, like offering to help organize shared office items, and you’ll not only restore your peace of mind but also show emotional intelligence in handling a tricky situation.

Elena’s situation is definitely a tough one to navigate. If she had more information about what was going on, she wouldn’t have acted the way she did. But she’s not the only one with a workplace story.

Workplaces often have a way of leaving people shocked, so if you want to see more about what can happen in them, check out this article: 14 Bizarre Workplace Stories That Sound Too Strange to Be True.