Worker says a coworker who leaves at 5 on the dot reported them for a long lunch. So they made sure she stayed late

A complaint about a long lunch at a large construction company appears to have turned into quiet sabotage. A worker claims they secretly threw away about a hundred documents a coworker in the accounts department prepared, according to a Reddit post by u/International_Yak266 in r/pettyrevenge. The coworker was then reportedly forced to stay late for five hours to redo them.

The worker says the incident happened last year and involved a coworker who strictly sticks to a nine-to-five schedule. It reportedly started when the worker had to visit the post office to send a document via special delivery. They claim they decided to add this errand to the beginning of their lunch break.

After paying for postage, the worker realized they had only 10 minutes left before their break started. As returning to the office only to leave again seemed pointless, the worker reportedly went home for the extra 10 minutes. According to the worker, when they returned, they handed the receipt to the coworker in accounts.

The worker insists they only went 10 minutes over their lunch break

Later that day, the account director reportedly confronted the worker, claiming the coworker in accounts had complained about a 90-minute lunch because she had seen the time on the receipt. The worker says they explained the errand took time, and the 30-minute overage claim was untrue. However, the director still apparently reprimanded them.

After stewing over the treatment for a few days, the worker claims an opportunity for payback came along. The accounts department prepares self receipts, which the worker says are used to prove contractors have been paid. According to the worker, these documents reportedly take days to process, as staff must enter thousands of invoices into the system at month-end.

When a batch of the coworker’s receipts arrived on the worker’s desk for distribution to the quantity surveyors, the worker allegedly split them into two piles. One pile reportedly went to the surveyors as intended. The worker claims the second pile went into a bin bag that was thrown out and collected the following morning.

A day or so later, a surveyor reportedly asked whether the worker had handed over all the self receipts. The worker says they innocently insisted they had passed on every receipt they were given. About a hundred were apparently missing, and the coworker in accounts was reprimanded and had to stay five hours late to redo them.

The worker claims no one ever discovered their involvement. Recalling the night she stayed behind, the worker wrote, “I smiled Gleefully as I left the building that night, while watching her in the window still working away.” The account could not be independently verified.

Reactions to the post were mixed. Some commenters blamed the company, with one writing, “Sounds more like the company is experiencing the karma/revenge of continuing stupid processes that are bound to have failures.” However, another commenter suggested the worker should avoid mailing office items close to their lunch hour in future.

A third commenter appeared far less impressed, remarking sarcastically, “You sound absolutely delightful to be around. Modern day hero.” Coworker relationships have fueled other viral Reddit posts, including one from a woman who claims she found texts from her husband’s “work wife” on his phone.

The worker claims they still throw out a few of the coworker’s receipts from time to time, which could mean more missing paperwork and late nights for the accounts department at upcoming month-end closes.