People have defended a woman who ended up in a whole heap of trouble with her work's HR department after she made what she thought was a normal comment to a co-worker.
She explained that she'd been working at a place for a couple of years and had struck up a friendship with a male colleague who she referred to as 'John', though it's likely not his real name.
They got along well at work and both were 'happily married', though the woman said her husband had been away for a couple of weeks and she was starting to feel his absence quite keenly.
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She mentioned to John that she was feeling a bit lonely at home without her husband and he said she 'must be a bit pent up' with her other half not around, to which she joked that she knew 'exactly how to please myself when my husband is away'.
It was at this point that John 'got really awkward and uncomfortable' and things weren't the same between them.
But the real surprise came when she was told off by her manager for being 'ridiculous' and got called into a meeting with HR.
The woman was wanting to know whether she was in the wrong so she threw the matter out to the internet and let the hive mind of Reddit judge.
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The collective wisdom of the internet came down overwhelmingly on her side, reassuring her that her co-worker was out of line and she'd really not done anything wrong.
One commenter wondered how John 'has the gall to complain about you' when he himself commented that she must be feeling 'pent up' with her husband away.
They suggested bringing up what he said to HR and if he countered with 'I didn't mean it that way' it would open the way for the woman to employ the exact same defence.
Someone else suggested that she quickly learn crocheting so she'd have something to bring into the HR meeting to fob them off.
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While someone else thought it was 'weird' that he'd take something 'sexual that has a possible innocent meaning', concluding that ' John is just a moron'.
However, there were a few who thought both colleagues had been 'inappropriate' in what they said.
She later updated people on what had been going on by saying that she'd explained to HR that it was a misunderstanding from her co-worker.
There won't be any sort of investigation into the matter but everything has been recorded just in case another incident crops up.
The woman also got an apology from her manager and the co-worker has been moved to a different team where they won't have to speak or interact with each other from now on.
Topics: Reddit
Joe Harker