Even ifyour jobdoes not entail a lot of teamwork, you might have to interact with co-workers on a daily basis nevertheless. And sometimes, the interactions are not all positive.
This redditor, for instance, had toconfront her co-workerafter realizing that she’s been taking things from people’s desks without asking. Though, even after said confrontation, the woman saw no problem in what she was doing.
Scroll down to find the full story andBored Panda’sinterview with a licensed clinical psychologist,Leon F. Seltzer, Ph.D., who was kind enough to share his insight on the matter.
Certain colleagues can make life at work needlessly difficult
Image credits:Sora Shimazaki (not the actual photo)
This person’s co-worker would take things from people’s desks without asking
Image credits:Marc Mueller (not the actual photo)
Image credits:aesop414
People take workplace theft very seriously, whether it’s someone’s pen or their money that’s being stolen
Sometimes, oneaggravating co-workeris enough to ruin a perfectly fine day. For this redditor, it was her colleague who would take what’snotrightfully hers, consequently ruining people’s day and making them feel understandably uncomfortable.
“People who have a sense of entitlement follow their own (self-interested) rules and can—and frequently do—violate the boundaries of others,” Leon F. Seltzer toldBored Panda. “This is a clear narcissistic trait, and though they may not meet the criteria for a full-blown narcissistic personality disorder, unquestionably they do possess one of the key narcissistic traits.”
Trying to put yourself in the shoes of the thief’s colleagues would probably make you uncomfortable, too, as the last thing you expect to happen at work is dealing with a thief. Unfortunately, in reality, it’s not as uncommon as you might think.
Image credits:Israel Andrade (not the actual photo)
Workplace theft can cause significant palpable and impalpable damage
Employeesstealing from one another isn’t the only theft-related problem workplaces face; some of them suffer from employees stealing from the company itself.Some statisticssuggest that three-in-four employees have admitted to stealing something from their employer and roughly 38% admit having stolen at least twice.
While stealing co-workers’ K-cups and pens might not result in millions of dollars in losses, it can have a significant detrimental effect onemployee moraleand people’s emotional well-being. The OP pointed out that after learning that their belongings have been messed with, the employees in her company felt shocked, angry, and violated, and rightfully so.
“It would certainly make the workplace feel less trustworthy,” Seltzer agreed. “To be optimally productive, professional colleagues need to work as a team and I can’t think of anything that would undermine this orientation more than for one person to treat others as objects to take advantage of for their own selfish purposes.”
When discussing the possible ways of dealing with such a person in the workplace, the expert emphasized that anybody who can behave like this and think it’s okay to do so would be extremely difficult to reach. “The only thing that could work would be to ask her whether she’d be okay with her colleagues removing items from her desk without asking. If she says ‘no’, that’s a good indicator that she doesn’t think others are entitled as she does herself, suggesting the probability that she does have a personality disturbance.
“However, it’s also important to consider that narcissists are frequently pathological liars, so she might say it would be fine with her but react very negatively if others put her alleged position to the test,” he added.
Image credits:Mario Gogh (not the actual photo)
The OP provided fellow netizens with more details
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