AITA, for confronting someone at work for using my mug?
Hello, I work in an office with about 50 other coworkers. Today I went into the kitchen as normal and found a colleague for another team making a round of drinks which included my mug.
I said it’s my mug and she asked if I wanted it, I said no it’s okay I’ve got a spare mug. She told me that most people don’t have their own mugs in the office therefore she just takes any mugs when making rounds of drinks. I said that might be why I had to bring a second mug since mine would occasionally go missing, she said if you care about it that much you should keep it on your desk.(if I did that I would need to clean and dry my mug everyday rather than just put in the dishwasher) I advised that if someone takes my mug that i don’t really just want to take someone else’s if mines missing
I’ve asked a couple other people in the office and both said they thought most people have their own mug.
I’m obviously not going to take something so trivial any further but wanted to know, am I being over protective of my mug or if she not being respectful enough of it? It’s odd because outside of this we get on well so I was really surprised to be having this conversation with her 😂
UPDATE – just to clarify a few things people from the comments;
1. No I don’t have a label on my mug.
2. There aren’t any communal mugs, all mugs belong to people and all are random. Although it would be good to have some communal mugs which all look the same.
3. I get the point about keeping my mug out of the communal area, but why should I not use the dishwasher in the evening because a minority of people are just taking any mug?
I think NAH, mainly because you didn’t make a big deal out of it beyond addressing it, but if you aren’t going to keep your mug at your desk you can’t be upset or surprised when someone else uses it if it is in a communal space.
NAH. But if it’s in communal area and not your personal mug, it’s fair game.
How would someone know its your mug? Is your name on it?
I assume not so I think it’s somewhat petty to complain about someone taking your mug from a cupboard in a communal space to use then expecting them to psychically know it belongs to someone else.
And the irony is that this happens enough for you to have brought a second mug to the office when you could have just labelled your first mug, and asked for a note to be added in the kitchen asking people not to use personal mugs when the company provides generic ones for general use.
So I’m going with YTA for that and for continuing to complain after she offered to give you your mug only for you to refuse.
Even if their name was on it, the office where I worked had such a random collection of mugs, that ‘mug with a name on it’ would have fitted right in there and I wouldn’t have assumed it was any less communal than the one with pink panter on it.
I’ve worked in offices like that too, and my assumption in this case is that OP’s office is the same.
I’ve also worked places where the majority of mugs are generic ones provided by the company and a smaller number of personalised ones meaning its obvious that people shouldn’t be using them. Even so, a single comment of “please don’t use my mug in the future” would have sufficed rather than OP’s childishness.
NAH She didn’t think people had their own mugs, now she knows!
When I worked in an office I had my own mug. I kept
It at my desk so that this didn’t happen. If it isn’t labeled and it’s in the communal space it’s on no one but OP that it gets used communally
YTA. Your desk = your mug, communal dishwasher or cabinet = community mug.
YTA. If you feel that strongly about your mug, keep it on your desk. If it’s that big a deal to you, how much work is it, really, to wash the mug daily? I worked in an office with about 75 other people for years and everyone knew that mugs left in the dishwasher or lounge were fair game.
Spoiler?
YTA – if you don’t want people to use your mug. Don’t leave it in a communal space
“she said if you care about it that much you should keep it on your desk”
She’s right.
You can’t accuse her of being disrepectul by using a mug that is in a **shared** area
A shared area typically means anything is up for grabs
just take that 30-60 seconds to wash your mug and keep it in your desk
.
You said no, YTA… to EHS
Keep your shit in your area… (or designated spots)