She wondered how her 'difficult' coworker kept receiving anonymous compliments — then she realized they all had the same handwriting

People tend to misunderstand a kind person's silence as weakness and a lack of courage to retaliate. However, in reality, such individuals are often simply waiting for the right moment to act. A nosy, entitled man working at a catering company learned it the hard way. On July 3, 2026, a woman (@longfrogien) recounted how her ex-colleague, John, exploited her past trauma to badmouth her publicly. But instead of confronting him, she waited for the perfect moment to make him taste his own medicine.

Weaponizing her past

The university catering team was entirely built on cooperation, making John's unusual presence a daily challenge. Almost everybody at work hated him for his discriminatory remarks. In fact, he was a workplace menace who viewed himself as superior to everyone else. However, to everyone's surprise, John was unexpectedly cordial to the woman, who was also his shift leader in October 2024. "He was just his regular level of insufferable around me, and then he would be a menace to other people," she recalled.

However, that changed once when the woman accompanied John during a routine delivery drive. While talking, she casually opened up about her mental health struggle from years prior that required her to take a year off school and use medication. The woman also mentioned that she gained 20 pounds because of the medication. While John acted sympathetic on the spot, his demeanor shifted drastically after this exchange. He spent the next few months becoming deliberately uncooperative and difficult to manage.

Trauma turned into gossip

Meanwhile, workplace tensions spiked due to another coworker named Jimmy. He was so annoying that everyone hated him for his overtly political and inappropriate remarks. The situation escalated when management issued a warning, explicitly banning discussion regarding politics, religion, and mental health. Naturally, most of the staff, including the woman, assumed the note was for Jimmy, but the real culprit was John.

Once, during a routine delivery, she casually brought up the new rules in a conversation with another coworker, Bella, who then confessed that John had aired out her trauma to her. Interestingly, disgusted by his behavior, Bella reported him to management, which John easily survived with a minor "yellow warning." Although it instantly made the shift lead furious, she rejected the idea of a messy confrontation and decided to play the long game instead. 

The ultimate payback

The shift leader, however, wasn't afraid of consequences. Even after knowing John's reality, she maintained a strictly professional relationship with him, and her patience paid off. One day she noticed a bizarre pattern: John receiving compliments every week in the office's "Weekly Win" box. Suspicious of the sudden praise, she dug deeper and found that all of John's notes shared the same handwriting. A casual ranting session with another coworker confirmed that he was writing those compliments himself.

Armed with undeniable proof, the lead bypassed the management entirely and dropped a single message into the staff's private group. "Imagine being so unlikable that you have to write your own compliments," she wrote. The text spread like wildfire, transforming John into an instant laughing stock. For the rest of the day, coworkers gave the lead high fives for turning the workplace bully's ego into the ultimate punchline. 

The bullying epidemic

What John did is a classic example of workplace bullying. In fact, according to the WBI U.S. Workplace Bullying Survey, about 32.3% of employees (52 million people) have faced bullying at work. What's more concerning is the fact that people don't confront or report their bullies, fearing job loss and other consequences. In fact, the report observed that bullied employees have a 62% chance of losing their job. This explains why only about 27% of bullies face consequences for their actions. 

You can follow @longfrogien on TikTok for more lifestyle content. 

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