Really you wonder if you haven't accidentally been transported to an episode of "The Office" sometimes. And I agree, a note saying don't touch my stuff never works! Though it reminds me of a chap I worked with years ago who was paranoid about his stuff going walkabout - so some of the boys (it was the 70s so maybe after a long lunch) - superglued his stapler, hole punch, pen caddy etc to his desk. Stupid but 50 people in an open plan office absolutely & totally hysterical at the time. Even glued the phone & receiver. Ruined the desktop and all the office supplies, I thought the fellow was going to have apoplexy. I suspect it was only funny if you were not the butt of the joke.
Also probably depends on what happened thereafter with the bloke, e.g. did he return with a gun and walk out of the office with an empty magazine?
Hey, we
did say the 70s, right?
Once again, I must be really lucky as there doesn't appear to be anyone so careless or conceited with respect to office supplies. I could leave a stapler, a pen, a pad of sticky notes, a box of tissues, my chair, my mug and what not on my desk and I know it will be back there. Sure, someone might have used a staple, a written with my pen, or taken a couple of tissues, or a couple of sticky notes....usually a note has been left to that effect, or at least it has been returned there.
That said, there seems to be a reinforcement of what I see is mainly an Australian or Western office behavioral theme, which is the person who is caste to appear as the idiot or outlier shall be subject to the harassment or contempt of the rest of the group. Whilst that person could be the
bona fide idiot or jerk as it were who only a mother could love, it could also just be the tall poppy who really might not have done anything wrong, but otherwise goes against the grain of the rest of the group. Which presents an interesting ethical dilemma between maintaining one's morals/ethics/standards versus getting even.
