According to an anonymous survey by Papermate, 100 percent of workers have admitted to stealing a pen from their workplace. But, what if it’s the boss stealing them from an employee?
TikToker Pentabear (@pentabear) went viral after she posted how she dealt with her boss repeatedly giving away her writing utensils at her paralegal job.
@pentabear #screammovie #VozDosCriadores #paralegal #paralegalsoftiktok #paralegallife #stoptakingmystuff #rudebosses #sharpiepens #sharpiepen ♬ Caramel Latte – Prod. By Rose
In the 13-second video, Pentabear zooms in on her writing tools in a container on her desk.
“My bosses keep giving away the pens I bought with my own money,” a voice explains. “Sharpie pens are expensive, like $5 for a four-pack.”
“So since they keep doing it, I replaced them with cheap pens,” Pentabear continues, showing the more affordable writing instruments she purchased.
Her video has been viewed over 604,000 times and has received over 20,000 likes as of publication. Viewers flooded her comments with support. Many shared how they protect their own writing utensils at work.
“Started writing with only purple pens so I could track them down when [people] walked off w them lol,” one user shared.
“Before I worked remotely, my pens came and went to and from work with me. You couldn’t trust ANYONE not to steal the good pens in that place,” a second added.
“I started writing only with non-cartridge fountain pens or calligraphy pens. The ink all over people’s hands told me who was taking them,” another said.
One user shared how she’d caught her boss using one of her special writing tools.
“I had RSVP pens I adored to the point I had spare return address labels so I put them on any purse pens I had. [I] found my manager using a lost one. I said, ‘Umm that’s mine.’ She said, ‘No.’ I was like, “Ummm yeah, that’s my name sticker you half peeled off on it. She was so embarrassed I caught her,” the commenter added.
“I brought my own pens to my job [two] years ago now and my boss will use them but knows they stay at my desk. No walking off,” someone else wrote.
Another shared a tactic of their own: “I keep ONE of my good ones out and I even made tables with my name on it.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Pentabear via TikTok for further information.
