Disgruntled co-worker (mid 30's) walked down the hall yesterday with a blue higlighter marking up the wall, do

Question

I tell someone?

This man has worked at our large company for 9 years now and has grown increasingly disgruntled. He has pulled things off in a more tactful humorous way before.

I could not believe my eyes when I saw him whip out a bright blue highlighter and as he walked, marked the entire wall.... since he was so close to the wall, it wasn't obvious what he was doing.

I don't think anyone else saw him do this, or maybe they did, but didn't say anything.

I don't know what to do. He is a nice guy, but this little "prank" has gone too far. I know him fairly well, but not sure if I should tell him or someone else what I saw.

What would you do?

Answer 1

Tell HR what you saw. He is clearly crossing the line and either needs help or needs to be terminated before he does more damae.

Answer 2

As a small business owner myself, I can assure you the best thing to do is tell someone. Speak with your HR dept, speak with your supervisor. Be honest about how uncomfortable this has made you feel - you don't like tattling on a co-worker, but this is disturbing behavior and needs to be handled by management.
Damaging property that the company will have to pay for hurts everyone that works there. That money is coming from somewhere to repaint that wall and that's less benefits or whatnot that others would receive. By letting someone get away with this kind of behavior is setting everyone up to expect it again. And what will he do the next time he gets upset? If he's not happy there, he needs to go be happy somewhere else. If he worked for me, I'd fire him. I expect better behavior from my 9 yr old son.

Answer 3

I would pull him aside and talk to him. Tell him that by pulling a 'prank' in front of you, he has put you in a very akward situation. You are now an accomplice, whether you want to be or not. Ask him if he is all right, or if there is some personal reason why he is sabotaging his job.

These type of signs (esp. from male coworkers) can be a sign of many different things. A situation like this can be anything from a mid-life crisis to a psycotic rage. The popular answer to your question will probably be "Report him." But, I think this is what's wrong with our workplaces today. We are too quick to distance ourselves from our fellow human beings. It sounds cheesy, buy what if the helping hand you offer prevents him from losing his job, coming back in with a shotgun, and going on a killing spree? Wouldn't you hate to look back in 3 months and say," If only I had talked to him instead of reporting him...Fred would still be alive."

Just food for thought. Good luck.

Answer 4

Actions like these are very disrespectful to EVERYONE in the workplace. You should tell someone and ask that your name be left out of it. He needs to realize that actions have consequences. Maybe they'll make him clean it off the wall. I hope they do.

I can't believe how childish adults can be. This is something I would expect from a 5 year old. Really, no job is perfect, if he doesn't like his so much, he needs to quit and find something else. Let someone have his job who will appreciate the work and the paycheck!

Answer 5

If you don't want to be the rat, or be known as the one who ratted him out, type a letter telling what he did and stick it in his supervisor's door or inbox. The supervisor will confront him about it. People like that can poison an entire organization with their underhanded tactics. He needs to be let go for destruction of company property.

Answer 6

If you know him fairly well, I think it would be best to talk to him first.

:-\

Going to the boss right away might ruin things for him. And, I don't think that what he did is enough to get him into real trouble. He's probably just stressed and needs a vacation, or possibly some consueling.

Answer 7

Don't wait for him to be on the 6 o'clock news. He should be reported to his superiors. That's not a prank but a sign of a disturbed man.

Answer 8

Be glad it was a marker and not a handgun this disgruntled worker pulled out.

Answer 9

I think I would have to tell because what if he winds up being one of those crazy postal workers that comes in and shoots everybody. Maybe you should talk to him about it if you know him pretty well.

Answer 10

I would tell someone. If you dont come forward with it and someone later finds out you knew who did it, you will be as guilty as him for doing it in the first place...