The Man Who Watched My Every Move At Work

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“It feels like I have to stay seated forever — only you seem pleased when I’m like this.”

I still remember the place where I once worked as a young, innocent, and naive employee. A memory that will stay with me for the rest of my life. It is a memory that left deep wounds that I still struggle to erase from my mind to this day. That experience has left a lasting mark, shaping me into someone who finds it incredibly difficult to trust others.

Everything began with a colleague I will refer to as Mr. Mustache. I first met him during a team meeting. At that time, one of our branch offices was being relocated, and he was among those reassigned to our head office, where I was already based.

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Since my role required me to coordinate with him on administrative matters, I greeted him and asked a few questions about our work. At first, I never thought anything negative about him. Everything seemed normal, and there was not a single suspicious action from his side.

That soon changed when Mr. Mustache began showing behavior that greatly disrupted my daily work. At first I told myself it was nothing out of the ordinary, just a colleague moving around or being called over by others. But I once read a saying: “Sometimes your intuition is never wrong.” And it was true — Mr. Mustache was always following me wherever I went, and things I said in private would quickly reach the ears of people who were never meant to hear them.​

I clearly recall telling a trusted teammate about a proposed new policy that had not yet been officially announced. Less than an hour after our conversation ended, colleagues from other departments who had no business knowing about it suddenly asked me, “Is there a new regulation coming out?” I was genuinely shocked — how could they possibly know? Back then I was still too oblivious to see what was really happening.​

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Gradually, the truth became impossible to ignore. Whether I was having lunch in the pantry, sitting in the technician room, collecting documents in the meeting room, or even being called into my supervisor’s office, Mr. Mustache was always there.​

For a long time, I tried to deny what was right in front of me. I told myself I was imagining things or overthinking, but my gut feeling was right. He was, for all intents and purposes, a stalker within our workplace. There was even a time when I took an important personal call from my family; I deliberately spoke in my regional dialect so he would not understand what we were discussing. Sure enough, less than five minutes later he walked away, unlike his habit of lingering close by.

I remember thinking to myself: Do I have to speak in a different language every time I open my mouth to stop prying?​

All I felt toward him was resentment. Eventually I could no longer bear his behavior. I confronted him directly and asked, “What exactly do you want from me?” He stood silent, unable to utter a single word in response.​

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The very next day, I was called in by my supervisor, who told me not to repeat my actions; they were considered disrespectful. I bowed my head, and before I knew it, tears were falling onto the floor.​

I stepped outside for a moment to compose myself, sitting alone in the garden within the office grounds. My eyes were swollen red, and I could not stop crying. I was all by myself with no one to turn to for comfort. After a while, I went back inside and carried on with my work as if nothing had happened.​

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That incident made me extremely cautious in everything I do. To this day, our professional relationship remains strained, and I have blocked all his contact information. I have learned that it is far better to keep a small circle of trusted people than to force myself to get along with everyone. I have become far more selective about who I let into my life, and I still am.​

To everyone who feels the same way — if you feel constantly watched, followed, or as if your privacy is no longer your own — please do not be scared to leave. Limit what kids learn about you, your days, and who you are. You have the right to protect yourself; never allow someone to make you feel bad for doing so. And please don’t let one person’s brutality cause you to lose faith in everyone else.”

Speak as if you are in Clementine’s Shoes.