When it comes to one’s personal safety, everyone has their different comfort levels.
Some might be more cavalier, and not really give it a second thought, while others might be overly cautious.
This makes it all the more important to be respectful of the habits of others when it comes to their personal safety.
Not only did a colleague of Redditor celebritieseatbread‘s not show respect towards their personal safety habits, but she went so far as to mock them to their fellow co-workers.
Worried they might not have handled the situation as well as they could have, the original poster (OP), took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), asking fellow Redditors:
“AITA for snapping at my coworker for making fun of me wearing a seatbelt?”
The OP revealed they were on their way to run an errand when their colleague noticed something they thought was unusual in the OP’s car.
“I’m currently at work on lunch writing this.”
“I think it’s ridiculous but apparently I’ve done something wrong.”
“This morning I left to go to the post office as one of my coworkers arrived.”
“I stayed in park when she pulled in next to me so she could get out, when I cracked my window to say hello she asked where I was going and I told her.”
“She then laughed and said ‘you’re wearing a seatbelt just for that?'”
“I didn’t know what to make of that so I rolled up my window and left.”
While the OP assumed this encounter would eventually be water under the bridge, their colleague apparently was unable to drop it.
“After I got back she stopped by my desk and said ‘the post office is less than a mile away, why would you bother putting your seatbelt on? I never wear mine.'”
“I replied that I always wear my seatbelt and gave her kind of an odd look, she just rolled her eyes and walked away.”
“An hour or so later when we were on break she again brought it up and was making fun of me to our other two coworkers standing there, saying ‘oooh look at me I wear my seatbelt for a 30 second drive.'”
“I was annoyed at this point and said ‘I’m sorry do you have some sort of problem?'”
“‘Wearing a seatbelt is a completely normal thing to do.'”
“She got upset and went back inside, no one said anything and we talked about other stuff for a few minutes then went in.”
Once again, the OP thought the matter was finished, but found themself in for a rather unpleasant surprise after returning to work.
“My manager called me into her office and said my coworker was crying in the lunchroom, apparently I insinuated she wasn’t normal and since she has anxiety and depression she felt it was an attack on her mental health.”
“I mean, okay I’m sorry she has mental health issues but so do I and a lot of other people of varying seatbelt compliance.”
“I wasn’t saying anything about her mental health, I was annoyed that she kept bothering me about something completely out of the ordinary.”
“Manager said we’d have to have a meeting later this afternoon, I said fine but that I thought it was unnecessary.”
“One of my coworkers agrees with me but says I was a little mean, I could have just asked her to stop.”
“I guess I could have but I also felt that it was such a bizarre thing for her to be needling me on that I snapped at her.”
“AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community roundly agreed that the OP was not at all the a**hole for confronting her colleague.
Just about everyone was confused both by the fact that the OP’s colleague would feel the need to pester them, as well as the fact that she found it strange to wear a seatbelt while driving, no matter the distance.
“NTA.”
“Your coworker made a big deal out of nothing and got butt-hurt you called them out on it.”
“I wear mine no matter how far I’m driving.”
“It’s literally second nature (not to mention who wants to hear their car constantly ding at them if you don’t).”- sickofdriving007.
“NTA.”
“Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to have an accident within a few miles of your home.”
“It’s very odd that you wearing a seatbelt bothered her to the point that she felt the need to bring it up multiple times.”-NorthernLitUp.
“NTA – ‘better safe than sorry’.”
“I hope she is aware that even with a 30 second drive you could still have an accident.”
“If she can’t take it, she might as well stop trying to dish it out.”
“Mental health has zero to do with this.”- PromisedMySun.
“NTA. First, how were you to know she has MH and anxiety issues?”
“Second, wtf is her problem going on about wearing a seatbelt?”
“That’s got nothing to do with anxiety or anything else.”
“Third, your response wasn’t nasty at all and seemed pretty normal.”- kevipants.
“NTA — Ask her if she would be willing to pay the fine you would have gotten if the police had seen you without a seatbelt on even for a 30 second to 1-minute drive in the car??.”-ShaneVis.
“NTA.”
“Most car accidents happen close to the destination anyway.”
“Also, I’m pretty sure it is illegal to drive without one on regardless of how far you are going.”
“You should have reported your coworker for attacking you for no reason whatsoever.”- Ask_Aspie_.
“NTA she is a big one though.”
“And ignorant as well, so many accidents happen close to home (or work in your case) probably because it is just a short trip so why bother with safety, huh?”
“Using her mental health issues as a weapon against you is manipulation.”
“I would absolutely talk about this in front of the manger she was harassing you and enlisting others in her little game.”- truthRealized.
Other’s were surprised that the OP’s colleague had the audacity to claim she was being teased by the OP when she was the one who was teasing them.
“NTA.”
“Perfect example of someone who can dish it out but can’t take it.”-oldnjgal.
“I don’t know how old OP’s coworker is, but seatbelt laws have been in effect since the 70s.”
“So assuming they’re under 50, seatbelts are normal.”
“But they bigger problem here is that they’re bullying* OP for following safety procedures in what appears to be a work situation.”
“And I rather doubt they’re willing to pay OP’s ticket if they get pulled over.”
“* This sounds more like bullying than simply joking around.”-Trini1113.
“NTA.”
“Mental illness isn’t an excuse to make fun of people that much.”-CasWay413.
“NTA.”
“SHE has anxiety and depression so you can’t say anything to her, but SHE was attacking and making fun of you for doing something like wearing a seatbelt while driving your car.”
“Hello pot, meet kettle.”-Legitimate-Stage1296.
“NTA – sounds like this coworker has problems with you and is looking for a way to cause trouble for you.”
“When she wasn’t able to humiliate you for something as normal as driving safely, which was proven when you said what you said about it being normal (which isn’t rude or mean, neither is asking if she had a problem since this stupid sh*t came up 3 times) she chose to play victim to you bullying her.”
“I have anxiety and depression (and know plenty of people with it), and that’s no excuse for her behavior.”
“And I imagine if anyone saw her crying, it was probably crocodile tears for effect, but my guess is she went and reported it straight to the manager, ‘OP made me cry.’- elvaholt.
“NTA.”
“It wasn’t an attack on her or her mental health.”
“It was an honest question.”
“She chose to escalate it into something it isn’t.”
“Please update on how the meeting goes.”-Momster404.
“NTA.”
“I wouldn’t even count what you did as snapping at her.”
“Plus, she was basically bullying you.”- mothertothemax.
“NTA I would have been so quick to tell my boss they she’d been harassing me for wearing a seatbelt all day and was mocking me and trying to make ME feel abnormal, but you didn’t say anything because you’re not a child.”
“Little Miss sensitive can’t use her mental health as an excuse to be a bully without having anyone defend themselves.”
“So ridiculous.”- Designer-Mark-8931.
The OP eventually gave an update, revealing that they wouldn’t be facing any disciplinary action, and they likely wouldn’t have to worry about being teased by their colleague ever again.
“Update: coworker went home early and my manager said the whole thing was stupid so I’m not in any trouble now.”
“Update 2: coworker put in her two week’s notice due to a hostile work environment.”
“Imagine encouraging becoming a human projectile”.
Interesting the OP’s colleague felt she was a victim of a hostile workplace, but didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with the way she was teasing the OP.
Here’s hoping she won’t make the same mistakes wherever she finds herself working next.
And that she’ll start wearing her seatbelt.