AITA For Stopping My Manager From Stealing My Charger?

A Redditor shares a dilemma involving his manager, who regularly “borrows” his phone charger without permission. After finding it missing on multiple occasions, even when his office was locked, he decided to secure the charger with a lockable outlet attachment. Now, some coworkers think he went too far, but he’s wondering if he was just protecting his own property.

‘ AITA For Stopping My Manager From Stealing My Charger?’

AITA for stopping my manager from stealing my charger? My (M, 25) manager Mike (M, 45) is in the office down the hall from me. He always seemed like a pretty nice guy and he’d stop by my office just to chat at least once a day. We had a good relationship.

It all started when, a couple months ago, he stopped in my office to ask if I had a phone charger, because he’d left it at home by accident. I said “sure, I always keep one plugged in by my desk,” and I handed it to him. He thanked me, used it, and gave it back the next morning because he’d forgotten to return it. No worries.

Since then, he’d ask to borrow my charger a couple times a week. I’d say sure and hand it to him. Lending it didn’t bother me, but he would always forget to give it back. So I’d always have to walk down the hall to his office and ask for it back if I needed it. Not a big deal, but a little annoying.

Then, about a month ago, I went on vacation for a couple days. When I came back into the office that morning, you guessed it, my charger was gone. The thing is, I lock my office every time I leave. And the only other person with a key is…you guessed it…my manager. Mike.

Lo and behold, I walk into Mike’s office to check in, and my charger is there. Plugged into the wall. Charging his phone. He sees me looking at it and just says “Hope you don’t mind I borrowed it while you were gone,” and tosses it back to me.

Since then, it’s become a pretty common thing for him to just walk into my office -locked or no- and grab it without asking. This was starting to get on my nerves so I went on Amazon and found this thing called a LockSocket, which locks your charger in place so it can’t be moved or taken. I got it the next day and it only took me a minute to install it on the outlet in my office.

Since then, my charger is always right where I need it, but some of my coworkers think I overreacted and should just buy another charger. So, AITA?

Let’s dive into the reactions from Reddit:

BuckyKatt206 −  No the f**k you SHOULDN’T buy a new charger, your lazy f**king manager should.

HatsAndTopcoats −  NTA. Tell your coworkers they are welcome to buy a charger for your boss if they think that’s a good idea.

LouisV25 −  NTA. He’s a manager, he can buy one. He can bring one from home. I don’t blame you at all. Bet he has one now.

SubjectBuilder3793 −  NTA. What you should have done is report this guy to HR for breaking into your office, friendly guy or not.. I do like your solution though.

Tinkerpro −  Why don’t you just take it home? It isnt that big. Then he can’t take it when you aren’t there and if he asks why it wasn’t in your office last night when he went to get it, tel him yours broke at home and you haven’t repalced it yet.

bathroomstallghost −  NTA your manager can buy one, or anyone else thats told you to buy a new one.

Reasonable-Sale8611 −  Why can’t he just buy his own charger?????

avahbug96 −  NTA. You paid money for your charger, he is your manager…he definitely makes more money than you so he can buy his own charger. He’s just being a cheapskate and taking advantage of you. Your coworkers who think you should buy another one are brainwashed and need to mind their own business.

SavingsRhubarb8746 −  Why would you buy a charger for your boss? He can buy his own. I’d probably quietly leave my charger home, maybe replacing it with a charger and little power bank you can carry in your bag or car for phone charging emergencies – but putting a lock on it works well too.. NTA.

laurazhobson −  NTA. And how cheap can a person be not to buy a charger. I have multiple chargers including chargers stashed in overnight bags and totes.
I have chargers plugged into sockets at my desk and by my bed with the charging cables attached so I literally just have to plug in the cord when necessary or to make sure everything is charged.

Your manager is so cheap that he is making his life more difficult because he had to physically walk and unplug and plug a charger rather than spend $20 for his own.