A woman has been called ‘unprofessional’ after the temperature was turned down in her workplace and colleagues were left ‘distracted’ by her visible nipples – she was told to change or work from home
A young woman was stunned when her manager asked her to leave the office because of her “hard nipples”.
While modern-day work attire can include more casual pieces, there is still a level of expectation when it comes to how you should look at work. One woman, who works as an engineer, claims she was so cold at her work that her nipples were visible through her clothing – and claims her manager said it was “distracting” to her male colleagues.
The 27-year-old work said: “I was so cold that my nipples became visible through my shirt, to the point where apparently it bothered one of my co-workers so much that he had to go and whine to my manager.” A 23-year-old co-worker complained that she should “stop being so sensitive to temperature” and dubbed her appearance as “unprofessional”.
The baffled woman says was told she could either work the rest of the day from home, or leave the office and come back only when she has changed her clothing.
The worker, who wishes to remain unnamed, took to Reddit recently to claim the air conditioning was turned up to a “freezing” level in the office. She put in a complaint and asked for it to be turned back up. But week later, the temperature was lowered once again.
She explained: ” I was not prepared considering that it had been warm enough after I put in my request. I didn’t dress for the colder temp and was wearing slacks with a thin white blouse. I hate padded/wired bras so I usually wear bralettes. I was so cold that my nipples became visible through my shirt.
“My manager approached me half way through the day and gave me the option to work the rest of the day remotely or go home and change. This was extremely frustrating since I actually had some work that needed to be completed in person and I really didn’t have the time to go all the way home, change, and come back. On top of that, he approached me about this in front of some of my co-workers.”
Not holding back, the offended woman told her manager that she “would not be doing either”, adding that she tried to explain the importance of her being in the office that day.
Once she found out who complained, she didn’t hold back in telling them how she felt. The woman added: “I responded by saying that he needed to grow the hell up, and that he could go home if he was that bothered by the shape of my nipples showing through my shirt.
“Manager interjected at this point and I walked off and stayed in a conference room for the rest of the day. I got a phone call from my manager just before I left. He said he understood my frustration but that my outburst earlier in the day was unprofessional. I recognised that it was, but then he asked that I apologise to my coworker to keep the peace. I declined and ended the call.”
That night, the woman saw she had an email inviting her to an hour long meeting with her manager and co-worker titled ‘level set’. “I quickly nipped that in the bud when I came in,” she commented. The annoyed woman took to Reddit’s forum Am I The A****e to ask if she was being unreasonable for being frustrated.
A number of people suggested the worker contacts HR about the issue. One individual said: “HR needs to be involved immediately if they aren’t already. This is turning into a sexual harassment issue that is actively affecting your work. Your body was doing a natural biological response due to the change in temperature, which theirs was doing as well. The focus is on you because you are being sexualised by your co-workers because they couldn’t stop themselves from looking at your boobs.”
Another added: “HR needs to be in on that meeting. Coworker was out of line & your manager should have shut him down.” A fellow engineer worker said: “Female engineer here. Get a lawyer asap. I have been in these situations. Lawyer will help with what to and not to say moving forward. They are definitely discriminating against you.”
One other commented: “OK so this is definitely a situation that can be resolved. You’re all adults and have the ability to communicate a compromise.”
But others dubbed the woman’s actions as “unreasonable”. One suggested: “Can’t you just bring in a jacket and leave it at work? There’s no reason for this to be an ongoing problem.”
Another commented: “Coming from someone who is hot all the time – isn’t easier to keep a sweater at the office to put on instead of making everyone else uncomfortably warm?”
Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
