Surviellance In Plain Sight

One moment stands out that confirmed everything I had been told, and everything I feared was happening behind the scenes. 

I walked up to the front desk one day, quietly and unannounced. The receptionist didn't see me coming. 

Sitting in front of her, in plain view, was a sheet of paper. On it were handwritten notes: my arrival time, and my break start and end times for that day. 

I was being tracked.

She saw me see it.

Her expression changed instantly. She looked startled, almost panicked. She quickly tried to cover the paper and then answered whatever question I had, nervously and without hesitation, clearly trying to shift focus.

I didn't say anything in that moment. I didn't need to. 

She knew I saw it.

And I knew exactly what it meant.

This wasn't just office politics. It wasn't miscommunication.

It was a coordinated effort, instructed by someone who wanted me gone, and quietly enforced by others who went along with it.

Tracking an employee's movements without just cause or transparency, especially after they've raised formal complaints, is a textbook example of retaliation and hostile work conditions.

At that point, I had already reported this recruiter to HR and my supervisor. I had already made it clear that the treatment I was receiving was unacceptable. Instead of investigating, the company did what it always did: look the other way.

But the evidence wasn't hidden.

It was sitting on the front desk, in plain sight.

And I never forgot it.

-- K