Older Male Tickles His 17 Y.O. Coworker, She Asks For Guidance Online

The thing is, u/DoggoandKitty_Lover recently started a new job at a grocery store where she happened to get tickled by an older male coworker when she was clocking out. The 17-year-old contemplated reporting the culprit, but she feared being perceived as a troublemaker – plus, her old folks assured her that the guy was just being “overly friendly.” 

17-year-old starts a new job at a local grocery store and finds herself in an unpleasant situation

One day, she gets tickled by an “overly friendly” older male colleague while clocking out

“WIBTA if I reported a co-worker for tickling my side?” – this internet user took to one of Reddit’s most judgmental communities, asking its members if she’d be a jerk for reporting her older male colleague for tickling her at work. The post managed to garner 2K upvotes as well as 436 comments discussing the situation.

It’s no big news that people suck – however, those who inflict mental, physical, or emotional suffering on others are holding a special seat on karma’s rollercoaster. 

Discriminatory harassment, such as racial- and gender-related harassment; personal harassment, which includes inappropriate remarks and hurtful jokes; physical harassment, like threats of danger and actual bodily actions like kicking and shoving; sexual harassment; psychological harassment; cyberbullying – frankly, the list could go on and on. 

It could happen at home, at school, or at work – pretty much anywhere. It doesn’t matter if it’s a large company or a small family-owned diner or even on your daily stroll in the park, the route of which you know by hand, people like that have no limits and, unfortunately, will do whatever they set their mind to regardless of the situation and the publicness of the setting. 

Moreover, as mentioned earlier, harassment has many forms, which could also contribute to the fact that many contemplate reporting it. Some actions – like in today’s case, tickling – could be brushed off as something minor and not threatening per se; however, when it makes you feel uncomfortable, no matter how big or small you believe the issue to be, you should absolutely sweat the small stuff and do what you gotta do, even if you fear of being seen as a “troublemaker.” 

To paint a better picture, did you know that according to WhatToBecome – a website that offers educational information and career advice – roughly 58% of women harassed at work don’t file a complaint? That’s a hell of a stat! 

Perhaps the victims think that they should have done something to stop it, or they think that they won’t be believed; if it happened at work, they might think that the culture won’t support them (which happens more often than you probably think); people might fear retaliation, or they might not want to relive the problem – it’s important to note that the reasonings vary from person to person, yet the majority do carry an “it’s-my-fault” type of undertone. 

Reporting harassment is vital, as it will not only ensure your safety but prevent future abuse! 

She thinks about reporting him – however, she doesn’t want to be perceived as a “troublemaker”

Now, while the original poster of today’s story eventually reached out to her HR manager and reported the issue (although she doesn’t think it will progress, may I note, as the person practically defended the culprit) – she did have to seek advice online prior to deciding.

The 17-year-old started a new position at her local grocery store. She mentioned that most people were friendly – however, there was this one character in particular, an older guy who had been there for years, that seemed more friendly than others.

One time, when she was clocking out and getting her things, he came up to her and tickled her side while she was bent over. The man didn’t grab anything, and it only lasted for a split second – however, I think we can all understand how it made the author feel, especially being an underage teen.

Naturally, it caught her by surprise, and she didn’t know how to approach the issue right then and there, so she first talked to her close ones. Despite the fact that her family believed the man was, again, being “overly friendly,” the youngster still contemplated reporting him since it made her feel uncomfortable, and she wanted a paper trail in case anything happened.

The 17-year-old then edited the post and added that she went to her HR manager, but as mentioned earlier, she said that she doubted that anything would happen, and since there were no further updates – we can only guess what ensued next.

The Reddit commenters collectively gave the OP an “NTA” verdict and encouraged her to address the problem with her superior. Many also noted that the culprit was testing the waters and was relying on the post’s creator’s age and/or her new work status to not call him out!

Anywho, branding the tickling as something innocent or “overly friendly” is none other than lunatic, as every person who has walked this earth knows that there’s no possible explanation as to why someone would want to touch a teenager, so kudos to the OP for finding the strength to report her coworker.

What do you think about this situation, though?

Fellow online community members shared their thoughts and opinions on this situation