Woman's Coworker Tries To Get Her Fired After Learning About Her Cosmetic Surgery — 'You Have More Plastic Than Barbie'
When will we learn to leave people's appearances alone?
NightGliderSA, Aiempp147, Anatoliy_gleb, fizkes / Shutterstock It’s become more and more common for people to critique how big or how small another person is or to pick apart their appearance for no good reason. But in one woman’s case, her coworker’s inappropriate comments seemed to be a combination of ignorance and jealousy.
The woman says her coworker tried to get her fired after learning of her cosmetic surgery procedure.
In a post titled, “My coworker tried to get me fired over my breast implants, so implanted her back into unemployment” on the Reddit TikTok channel, but originally shared on r/ProRevenge subreddit as a “reverse Uno” situation, the woman started by saying that her family history was what prompted her to get the surgery.
It all started when her mother died of breast cancer four years prior, after both of her grandmothers had also passed from the same disease. When the woman was just 24 years old, she lost her mother and, due to her family history, she decided it was time for her to get screened as well.
That screening resulted in the discovery of pre-cancerous cells in one of her breasts. That left her with three viable options:
- Undergo regular cancer screenings every three to four months. Once cancer becomes active, she would then need to begin treatment.
- Remove one of her breasts. She could get a single mastectomy on the on the affected breast, but would still face the same risks in her remaining breast.
- Remove both of her breasts. The woman could get a bilateral mastectomy to totally eliminate the high risk of following in her mother’s and grandmothers’ footsteps.
If there is a family history of breast or ovarian cancer, the most commonly affected genes are breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer 2 (BRCA2). Every year, 3% of breast cancers and 10% of ovarian cancers are linked to them, and many women opt to have a mastectomy in order to avoid the associated risks.
The woman chose the double mastectomy but was left physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred.
Though she was aware that the surgery would leave some minor scarring, she was shocked when she was left with two “huge, pink, jagged scars on either side of my chest, each about an inch long and half an inch wide,” causing her to fall into extreme depression. So much so that her therapist recommended plastic surgery.
She tried a scar reduction cream and it didn’t work, so she decided to go ahead with getting laser breast implants, going from her original size F cups to a DD. The decision helped her mental health, confidence, and self-esteem to improve, though she acknowledged that she knows that image is not everything.
Four years later, her coworker learned of her surgery and decided to mock her and spread the word.
Jill, a colleague, overheard the woman talking about her breast implants with a friend at work, and began telling others in the office of the woman’s procedure. She even went as far as saying the woman was “more plastic than Barbie” and referred to her as a “sack of silicone.”
Uncertain of what had drawn her coworker’s ire, the poster went on to confront her in private places like the elevator and women’s bathroom. But the commentary continued, and Jill called her “shallow” and gestured toward her breasts in the lunchroom in front of several people.
The woman hit her breaking point. She angrily explained why she had gotten the implants and told the woman not to speak on things she didn’t know all of the details about before storming out of the cafeteria.
Her embarrassed coworker had the audacity to go to Human Resources about the matter.
The workplace was divided, with some offering support to the woman and others saying she had gone too far when confronting Jill. Apparently, HR got wind of the situation and called her into their office to discuss the “hostile work environment.”
The fact that Jill’s friend, Debbie, was the HR person assigned to the investigation left no questions about who had filed a complaint.
Believing that Debbie’s involvement was a conflict of interest, the woman began to gather support from other coworkers, many of whom willingly made statements as to Jill’s behavior. She also asked that Debbie not be the person overseeing the process; she did not, but was still involved along with three other HR representatives.
Within an hour, due to the overwhelming evidence, Jill was terminated.
“5 pm rolls around, everyone is either leaving or getting ready to leave, when Jill storms back into the office. She glares at me the whole time she packs up her desk. She then starts telling anyone who will listen that I got her fired before shoving her way onto the lift,” the woman shared.
As plastic surgery grows in popularity, attitudes toward it get more and more negative.
In a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, participants were shown images of women and were told what type of procedures they intended to get.
The results showed that they were perceived unfavorably overall, but generally, women who were already viewed as "attractive" received more negativity than those who were initially deemed "unattractive."
It was like the people in the study could understand why those who were "less attractive" had a justifiable reason to seek change.
According to the study, women represent 87% of the plastic surgeries undergone every year and it's steadily increasing.
Recipients tend to reap both physical and psychological benefits and are mostly happy with the results, so no matter what some people in the outside world may think, people who receive plastic surgery find more satisfaction in their appearances than they did pre-surgery.
Still, the perceived traits of those who pay for cosmetic surgery include them being "superficial," "unstable," and "lazy" due to the attitude that they were "taking the easy way out."
No matter the reasons, when it comes to harassment the workplace, documentation is key.
If you find yourself in this woman’s position, being harassed by a coworker, either directly or indirectly, it’s important that you report the behavior immediately.
Go to your manager first and, if that fails, escalate the situation to your Human Resources department. In each case, follow up with an email detailing your concerns and any key elements of the discussion.
Never feel bad about reporting a toxic coworker. Everyone has a right to show up to their job as the best version of themselves. Anything prohibiting that should be addressed and removed if necessary. Remember that if it’s not in writing, it never happened.
NyRee Ausler is a writer and author from Seattle, Washington. She covers issues navigating the workplace using the experience garnered over two decades of working in Human Resources and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.