The Case of the Missing Office Chair

I once had an employee, let's call him Mark, who was extremely particular about his ergonomic setup. One Monday morning, he stormed into my office, red-faced, claiming his specially-selected, top-of-the-line office chair was missing. I initially thought it was a prank, but a quick walk through the office confirmed the truth: Mark’s chair was gone. We checked security footage and saw a colleague, Susan from Accounting, wheeling it out late Friday afternoon. When I asked Susan about it, she simply said, "Well, my chair was uncomfortable, and Mark wasn't using his over the weekend, so I borrowed it. What's the big deal?"

The big deal, as I had to explain to Susan, was that she had essentially taken company property that was assigned to another employee without permission, causing a workplace disruption and a mini-crisis. This seemingly small incident spiraled into a formal coaching session with Susan on respecting shared resources and proper internal communication, and a long conversation with Mark about the importance of giving colleagues the benefit of the doubt before escalating. It was a bizarre situation that perfectly illustrated how good intentions, when coupled with poor judgment, can quickly derail an otherwise productive day.

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Key Takeaway: Clear policies and open communication prevent office drama from escalating. Whether it's a chair, a project, or a lunch hour, employees need to understand that processes exist to maintain fairness and order. Your business needs a robust Employee Handbook and Conflict Resolution Training to ensure small issues—like borrowing a chair—don't become big, distracting HR problems.