Being stalked by my close colleague at work for 8 months (Gossip and Rumours)

diystarter7

Hi OP
Last try, your choice.
What outcomes are you hoping for?
you want the person/sons reprimanded, fired,etc?

Either way, good luck but please be responsible for your own works sytems safety/security by following company procedures about login and out

Thanks

comeandgo

tevezratman said:

warby68 said:

Were they not just dropping giant hints to you about your mistake, without getting directly involved? 

The question is whether intimate photos were shown around.

If this guy is capable of discussing and spreading rumours - surely he would be able to do something unjust like that. 

You had intimate photos accessible through work hard ware?  That would be gross misconduct, on you, where I worked.

Emmia

comeandgo said:

tevezratman said:

warby68 said:

Were they not just dropping giant hints to you about your mistake, without getting directly involved? 

The question is whether intimate photos were shown around.

If this guy is capable of discussing and spreading rumours - surely he would be able to do something unjust like that. 

You had intimate photos accessible through work hard ware?  That would be gross misconduct, on you, where I worked.

I have to agree on the disciplinary action on you - why did you use a shared computer to access a chat with "intimate photos" - why not just use WhatsApp on your own phone? (And indeed, why take / share these photos,  financial information etc. on WhatsApp... IMO you're just asking for trouble). 

The only way you'll be shot of this is by seeking alternative employment, especially if the contents of the WhatsApp have been "shared" with many colleagues, with the result that  even if the person spreading it gets fired, your colleagues can't unsee / unknow it.

tevezratman

Sorry guys by intimate I meant private photos of me (with no nudity). Agreed - Try to seeking another job but still cant get over the fact my manager didn't put a stop to all this

tevezratman

I have also considered going to HR but as you know they will go in favour of the manager.

JReacher1

tevezratman said:

I have also considered going to HR but as you know they will go in favour of the manager.

As has already been pointed out check your company policies before you go to HR. Some companies will have a policy that you shouldn’t use work computers for things like WhatsApp. Making a complaint could end up causing you problems. 

Undervalued

tevezratman said:

Sorry guys by intimate I meant private photos of me (with no nudity). Agreed - Try to seeking another job but still cant get over the fact my manager didn't put a stop to all this

Even so, why were your private photos on a work computer?

Unless your company IT policy specifically allows private use (which is possible but unusual) I would be very careful how you proceed.

OK, two wrongs don't make a right but had you not used the company IT for personal matters none of this would have happened.

If this person was senior to you he may well have been fully entitled to examine your computer use? Obviously he should have raised any concerns, either directly with you or further up the chain of command, rather than sharing the material with other colleagues. However, unless you are absolutely sure you were fully entitled to use the systems in that way I would put it down to experience.

tevezratman

Yes - those were old spare machines that would have been recycled. We got permission to use them for personal use.

Just one day I thought instead of typing a long link to a website (make it easier by using web whatsapp).

I guess that backfired pretty badly.

The web whatsapp was from my personal phone and number and not my work phone. I still dont understand how someone can sit there opposite you, browsing through personal your content.

I had a lot of financial docments including passports, driving license copies and passwords.

Someone with a bit of sanity would have known that this is just wrong.

Undervalued

tevezratman said:

Yes - those were old spare machines that would have been recycled. We got permission to use them for personal use.

Just one day I thought instead of typing a long link to a website (make it easier by using web whatsapp).

I guess that backfired pretty badly.

The web whatsapp was from my personal phone and number and not my work phone. I still dont understand how someone can sit there opposite you, browsing through personal your content.

I had a lot of financial docments including passports, driving license copies and passwords.

Someone with a bit of sanity would have known that this is just wrong.

I am not suggesting that what you claim he did was right. However doing any private / personal business on a computer you don't own is fraught with danger.

Long before the internet, in the early days of desk top computers with floppy disk drives there was a famous court case in the USA. The judge observed that a computer was like an unlocked filing cabinet with a built in photocopier!

WhatsApp messages may be secure in transit but as many recent police misconduct cases have shown they are fully accessible to anybody who gets access to a device on which they have been saved.

In some ways this chap's misbehaviour may have done you a favour.

tevezratman

Thanks for your responce.

Appreciate all the input - Maybe next time I will go rumaging through his office draw to see what I can find.

Maybe next time I will randoly say did you get a warrant

Lets see if he lives it