A mum has been left upset after one of her work colleagues threw away all of the things she had left out on her desk. She made the discovery after returning from the Christmas break.
The woman said that even though many of the items were simple handwritten notes, some of them were “sentimental.” They included her son’s GCSE timetable and reminders about important appointments.
She said that after the festive break plus a “few weeks off sick”, she returned to her office and made the discovery. Taking to Mumsnet, she wrote: “Back to work after Christmas and a few weeks off sick, to find that one of my colleagues who sometimes works at my desk has thrown away all of my papers.
“It was mostly handwritten notes about kids’ appointments, my holiday plans, lists of things to remember about school, school calendars, and my eldest son’s GCSE timetable. It was all personal sentimental stuff that I liked to have on my desk to see and remind me.
“I asked where it all was, and he said that he had “got rid of all the crap.” I’m really disappointed and a bit furious, actually, but he thinks it’s all perfectly fine. I know I’m a ridiculous softy about a lot of things, but this was MY stuff.”
In response, some people asked why her colegue was working from her desk in the first place. One person said: “Why is he using your desk? That was really s*** of him, but does he think it’s not actually your desk that needs to take over like that?”
Another wrote: “I’d be really cross, too. It doesn’t matter what it is; it wasn’t anyone else’s to bin.”
A third said: “It is nasty behaviour, but if it is a shared desk, you really should leave it clear and keep your personal papers at home.”
One person advised the woman to keep notes in drawers in the future to prevent anything happening again. They penned: “To be honest, it sounds like a lot of handwritten paperwork, which probably needed to be in a drawer or something to protect it from cleaners/tea spillages/other people working at your desk.
“I am sorry it’s been thrown away, but if it’s a desk used by other people, it needs to be tidy and not have anything important or sentimentally valuable left on it.”