- An employee faced a career threat over an unknown spreadsheet by a female coworker.
- The coworker tracked personal allegations against staff in an Excel sheet.
- The manager discovered the sheet and threatened the employee sitting near her.
An employee shared how an ordinary day at the office quickly turned into a career-threatening nightmare. In a Reddit post, the employee claimed their manager threatened to "destroy" their career over a spreadsheet they didn't even know existed. Sharing their story anonymously on the r/IndianWorkplace forum, the worker said the threat was linked to a female coworker, who apparently began suspecting that other staff members were gossiping about her, and some male colleagues even looked at her "inappropriately".
The female coworker maintained an Excel sheet containing a detailed log of her colleagues. Next to individual names, she documented personal allegations, using descriptions such as "Looks at me badly", "Talks behind my back", and "Makes inappropriate gestures".
But the situation exploded when she left the office for the day, and the manager discovered the spreadsheet.
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"He started shouting at me because I sit near her and am apparently 'too close' to her," the employee shared online. "He even threatened that if my name came up in this issue, he would destroy my career."
The employee claimed that they absolutely have no involvement in creating or encouraging the secret list. "The thing is, I had absolutely nothing to do with that Excel sheet. I didn't know she had created it, wasn't involved in it, and never encouraged it," the employee wrote.
"I'm worried I'll become a scapegoat just because I sit near her. How should I handle this? Should I document the incident, speak to HR if needed, or simply distance myself?"
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See the post here:
Manager threatened my career because of a coworker's personal notes. What should I do?
by u/CandidFlakes in IndianWorkplace
Social media reactions
The post quickly drew significant traction, with professionals offering advice on how to navigate this situation. "Stay away from this mess and tell your manager firmly not to discuss this matter with you," one user wrote in the comment section of the post.
"Was he on that list?! Get the HR involved if HR is not too close to the manager. Send a written mail to HR with what has transpired and that you were threatened by your manager (Only if the manager is not too close to HR)," another user noted.
"Report it in an email to HR immediately, and on top write 'confidential- do not forward'. It is important that you raise it with your ethics team too," a third user suggested.
