We and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our site to personalize content and ads, provide social media features, and analyze our traffic. You can read more about it and change your preferences here.
Harry Styles once sang that we should all treat people with kindness. And while this statement seems like common sense to some, for others, it’s a foreign concept. They can’t seem to wrap their heads around the fact that you should act with others the way you want them to act when it comes to you.
In today’s story, one woman learned this lesson for sure. Okay, we don’t know if she really did, but we hope so. You see, her harsh words towards her coworker, whom she didn’t know that much about, came back to bite her back, and everyone around couldn’t have been happier about it – that’s how offensive she was.
The receipts included the witness reports of the calling-out incident and other stories of the woman making inappropriate comments about someone’s looks
Text excerpt from a personal story about cancer surgery shared by a 28-year-old after a coworker comments on her appearance.
Young woman shares her cancer surgery story after coworker comments on her appearance comparing her to Barbie.
Text excerpt about contract and impartial overseer related to 28YO sharing cancer surgery story after coworker comment.
Text snippet describing a workplace conflict involving a supervisor, coworker Debbie, and a complaint about impartiality.
28-year-old shares cancer surgery story after coworker compares her appearance to plastic Barbie doll.
Young woman sharing cancer surgery story during a serious conversation with coworkers in a modern office setting.
The coworker was happy about herself for dealing with her bully in a professional manner by going through proper channels instead of causing needless drama
A while ago, the OP had some tests done and found out that she has some potentially cancerous cells in her breast tissue. So, to remove the risk of getting the disease, she got a double mastectomy.
After that, she hated her appearance so much that it started negatively affecting her mental health. So, she got breast implants to hide surgery scars, which made her comfortable in her skin again.
Then, one day, she was having lunch with her work friend, and they mentioned the surgery she had. One of the coworkers, Jill, overheard it, and from that point on, she started throwing jokes about it, without knowing the cancer context. The OP asked her to stop more than once, but she never listened.
So, the pile of these jokes kept growing, and it was bound to overspill at some point. And it did during one lunch, when Jill once again implied that the author is “shallow” because she got chest implants. The original poster lost it and told her everything.
Later that day, she got a notification from HR that someone reported her for a “hostile work environment.” The HR person was Debbie, Jill’s friend, so it was clear who the reportee was. But the woman wasn’t about to go down easily.
She collected evidence from the colleagues, who witnessed the incident, asked for an “impartial overseer”, and filed another report herself with an addition of other comments she made about other coworkers’ appearances.
Young woman carrying a box with personal items, reflecting on her cancer surgery story after coworker comments.
HR ended up conducting an investigation with interviews of various employees, including the OP and Jill. And so, it resulted in Jill getting fired and the original poster winning. Well, knowing what a strong case she had, it would have been surprising to learn that it ended any other way.
After all, it seems common sense not comment on someone’s appearance, especially in the workplace. Granted, some exceptions might apply if the attire violates the dress code or the job is focused on appearances, like something in the fashion industry.
And even then, one must be careful with their comments. Overall, it’s simply best to steer clear of mentioning someone’s clothing choices, physical attributes, body language, or anything like that.
But apparently not everyone has this common sense. And that everyone includes Jill in this scenario. As the OP’s receipts proved, she likes to make a lot of insensitive comments about how her coworkers look, lacking genuine empathy, and thinking she was untouchable.
And so, when she touched the nerve of a woman with a double mastectomy, she took it too far. When it comes down to it, cancer tends to affect people’s self-image a lot. It comes down to the fact that the treatment of this disease is very harsh on one’s body. It can cause hair loss, change their weight, leave surgical scars, and generally lead to heightened self-consciousness and feelings of insecurity.
Of course, in the case of the OP, she didn’t have cancer; she had a procedure to prevent it, but her self-image took a big hit, and that’s why Jill’s comments hurt so much. So, netizens weren’t really sad that she lost her job. In fact, most of them were happy she was forced to face the consequences of her actions.
Do you think similarly to netizens, or do you think HR was too harsh to the coworker? Please, share in the comments!
Netizens were happy too – everyone loves a story where a villain gets what she deserved
Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing breast implants and cancer survivor experience after surgery story shared online.
Screenshot of an online comment discussing a job-related conflict following a cancer surgery story shared by a 28-year-old.
Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing workplace bias and a coworker's response about impartiality after cancer surgery.
Screenshot of an online discussion post sharing a cancer surgery story after coworker comments on appearance.
Screenshot of a Reddit post discussing a 28-year-old sharing her cancer surgery story after coworker's harsh comment.
Screenshot of online comment saying Oh I sure do love a swift comeuppence, related to cancer surgery story.
Screenshot of a Reddit comment discussing workplace behavior and reactions to a coworker's inappropriate remarks about appearance.
28-year-old shares cancer surgery story after coworker insults her by comparing to Barbie doll appearance.
Screenshot of a user comment discussing implants and harassment related to a cancer surgery story and coworker remark.
I am a writer at Bored Panda. I have loved creating and writing down stories about people and things since I was little and I think this passion led me to get degrees in sociology, communication, and journalism. These degrees opened various paths for me, and I got a chance to be a volunteer in the human rights field, and also try myself out in social research and journalism areas. Besides writing, my passions include pop culture: music, movies, TV shows; literature, and board games. In fact, I have been dubbed a board games devotee by some people in my life.
I am a writer at Bored Panda. I have loved creating and writing down stories about people and things since I was little and I think this passion led me to get degrees in sociology, communication, and journalism. These degrees opened various paths for me, and I got a chance to be a volunteer in the human rights field, and also try myself out in social research and journalism areas. Besides writing, my passions include pop culture: music, movies, TV shows; literature, and board games. In fact, I have been dubbed a board games devotee by some people in my life.
I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. While studying at Vilnius Tech University, I learned how to use Photoshop and decided to continue mastering it at Bored Panda. I am interested in learning UI/UX design and creating unique designs for apps, games and websites. On my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, watching TV shows and movies and reading funny posts on the internet.
I am a Visual Editor at Bored Panda. While studying at Vilnius Tech University, I learned how to use Photoshop and decided to continue mastering it at Bored Panda. I am interested in learning UI/UX design and creating unique designs for apps, games and websites. On my spare time, I enjoy playing video and board games, watching TV shows and movies and reading funny posts on the internet.
The cancer backstory doesn't matter at all. All the comments and aggression are completely inappropriate in any circumstances, if there was surgery or not, for whatever reason. If you want to impose your own morality on people start a cult.
The cancer backstory doesn't matter at all. All the comments and aggression are completely inappropriate in any circumstances, if there was surgery or not, for whatever reason. If you want to impose your own morality on people start a cult.
20
3