Colleague has thrown everything away that was on my desk

From this update I'd tell him straight not to touch your stuff again and to sit elsewhere. I'd also tag on that he's not to use the women's bathroom again if you'll have to escalate it. He's a prick

I’m surprised your workplace doesn’t have a clear desk policy, it’s more common than not.
Love a bold “citation needed” statement like this. How on earth do you know? I’ve never worked anywhere with one.

Every time he gets up to go to the loo, chuck out anything on his desk and pour his cup of tea down the sink. You’re just helping to clear up….

Sleeping bag, gosh.

Most people have some personal odds and ends on their desk or in drawers, or pinned to a board.

It is nobody else's business to be throwing those things away. I'd be livid.

If I were you OP, I would email this person and tell them how cross you are that they threw your notes away, they had no right to do so, and that they are never to touch any of your personal belongings ever again. Copy it in to your boss, his boss and HR (if you have one).

Just curious and not sure if this is relevant - but what's the mix of men to women where you work? And what do the other women keep on their desks?

Maybe you are right and I am being dramatic, but this sort of personal stuff - kids full names, DOBs, other details - can be misused by someone, and I would actually feel creeped out if someone random read my personal notes. I bet this twat of a colleague went through them before he binned them.

I agree you shouldn't have had this out while you weren't there but your colleague still shouldn't have binned it. He could have asked you to move it or put it somewhere else. Very rude!

Well OP, now you know what sort of a colleague he is and to take more care around him in future.

He could have made his point by putting all your papers in a file in a drawer, throwing the stuff away is nasty.

I think "reckless" is a strong word. Although never leave what you'd not be prepared to lose, of course. Or be wrecked by an cockwomble with previous form

💀

You don’t need your kids exam timetable on your desk six months before the bloody exams

If it is a small mobile office on a building site (or something similar) then having your personal stuff lying around while you are away is even more reckless. Though OP did say she was ill - perhaps an unexpected illness - still, she could have called a colleague and asked for her notes to be put away.

Well they were a total dick for binning it rather than putting it in a box on a shelf for safekeeping but why are you keeping all your personal and life admin in your workspace?

I'm guessing warehouse or portakabin set up - construction industry, perhaps?

DeliciousApples · Today 13:38
"Does everyone else dislike him as much as you?
If so I'd grass him in to my manager for every little thing he has ever done."

The OP said at 12.44 "To everyone advising complaints to management/HR, there is no such thing here."

Is there a chance your notes are still there, in paper recycling bin? (if you have one)?

I understand OP, he could have put your paperwork in a drawer.
I think you need to talk to him about this.
I would be really upset too

Call his bluff and say he threw away something work related and important. And tell him you will report him to HR.

But tbh I would never leave anything on top of my desk, even work related - not just because it can get thrown away, but also because I hate other people nosying around my stuff. All of your paperwork sounded really personal, were you ok with people looking through it while you were away?...

I feel you! I had a sentimental foreign film poster on the wall beside my desk (I was there for 17 years!) I came back from maternity leave to find a newcomer had taken it down and binned it. I was livid.

Does everyone else dislike him as much as you?

If so I'd grass him in to my manager for every little thing he has ever done. And say it appears to be ramping up and is getting out of hand. He needs to stop his bad behaviour, which feels misogynistic and bullying and it's starting to affect staff. Including me. And needs something done.

That way if others feel the sane it can't be seen as let's sack her as a troublemaker. It will be more let's address his issues.

He sounds like a right prick. Using the ladies loo as and when is a dealbreaker for me. Prick.

If it’s your desk, you do what you want with it.

If it’s mainly your desk but there’s an understanding that he occasionally hot desks on it, you still did nothing wrong, providing that you didn’t literally crap up the whole desk. If someone is using your desk occasionally, it is polite to keep it neat and tidy, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have anything on there. It just means that you eg keep your papers in a neat pile rather than having them spread all over the desk.

honestly even if you had crapped up the whole desk with your papers, it’s not that hard to just put the papers neatly into a pile on the side of the desk, so it’s still a dick move on his part to bin it all. Yeah, it’s a bit rude to crap up the desk with stuff, but it’s ruder (and actually potentially dangerous) to bin it. You could have had important work stuff in that pile, he didn’t know! If I was feeling malicious, I’d report him to HR for potentially destroying important work materials, or even just for destroying your property.

sorry you have to work with this bastard.

no manager? no business owner? are you a co-operative?