Employee Reveals What She Saw On Her Boss’s Screen That Made Her Feel Unsafe In The Office

A far too large percentage of women — 42% — report experiencing some form of gender-based discrimination on the job. While society has come a long way, many women still earn less for the same position, experience poor treatment and a lack of support based on their gender, and are even passed over for promotions and job opportunities.

On top of that, 60% of women say that they have experienced unwanted sexual attention or sexist comments in the workplace.

Devon, the esthetician on TikTokshared her own unfortunate experience in which her male supervisor made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

The employee revealed what she saw on her boss’s shared screen during a meeting that made her feel ‘unsafe’ going into the office.

“Here is why I believe working in corporate America today as a young woman is incredibly unsafe and not a good environment,” Devon began her video. “I’m not gonna give any specifics about my current role, but I have been there for three years now, and I just submitted a complaint to HR.”

She explained that this entire debacle began a year and a half ago when her direct manager shared his screen during a meeting. He opened Google, and Devon noticed something shocking.

“There were so many Google searches of my social media accounts, my Instagram, my TikTok, my Twitter, my actual name,” she recounted, adding that he previously claimed not to have social media, so she concluded that he must have made fake accounts for this very purpose.

Her boss quickly exited the screen, and Devon was unsure if he was even aware that she’d seen his searches. Regardless, it made her uncomfortable.

“I felt so violated,” she admitted. “This is my first real job in the corporate world. I moved from another state down to Florida for this job. So even though this made me uncomfortable and scared, I just sucked it up and kept doing my job.”

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It wasn’t long before the employee started receiving an influx of gifts from her manager.

Her boss’ constant checking of her social media accounts wasn’t the end of this disconcerting behavior, but the beginning.

Despite her unease, Devon kept her head down and continued to do her job, as is common for many young women in the corporate world.

Women often feel compelled to keep quiet when they are feeling disrespected and violated by men, especially men in power. They believe that no one will take their claims seriously, but as Devon learned, this only allows for something more to happen.

Devon explained that she started receiving over 20 gifts from her boss, “all derived from stalking behavior.”

“I posted a picture of vegan cookie dough on my Instagram story. The day later, he brought me in the same cookie dough,” she recalled. “I went to the zoo, and I posted a picture feeding a giraffe lettuce; the next day, he brought me a giraffe stuffed animal.”

“I have a French Bulldog,” she continued, “he’s given me French Bulldog magnets.”

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Her boss also constantly stared at her ‘chest area.’

“I started to notice him stare at my chest area,” she said, clarifying that she wore only “professional outfits into the office” and “nothing revealing.”

This obviously made her feel even more unsafe and uncomfortable, so much so that she began wearing only crew neck sweatshirts while working. She even attempted to switch to a different department but was unsuccessful.

When it was announced that employees were required to return to the office, Devon was devastated. She didn’t want to spend time around her boss and decided to contact HR.

“I finally was like, you need to do something because you can’t live in this constant stress and anxiety around feeling so unsafe and uncomfortable. So I shared these concerns with HR,” Devon said. Unfortunately, the meeting didn’t go as Devon hoped and instead became a victim-blaming session.

She was reprimanded for looking unprofessional despite wearing a crew neck to prevent her boss from inappropriately staring. Her boss unsurprisingly denied starting at her chest but admitted to looking at her social media and buying her gifts. HR seemed to take his word.

“Can you guys guess the outcome?” Devon questioned. “Nothing. I still have to work as normal. I still have to go into the office.”

This employee’s experience is sadly not abnormal for women in the workplace.

A majority of women report experiencing some level of workplace sexual harassment, and as Devon’s story demonstrated, much of it goes entirely unchecked.

“If I (were) to have a daughter, I would highly advise against (her) working in a corporate setting like this,” she concluded. “This is an unsafe environment. There are men who just take advantage of women. And when you are strong enough to bring up these concerns, nothing happens.”

This type of treatment is unacceptable, and commenters encouraged Devon to get in contact with an employment lawyer to take legal action against her boss’ advances and her company’s lack of care.

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Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.