Colleague has thrown everything away that was on my desk

Why would it even cross your mind that you needed to do anything with it? Who other than the man in question here sits temporarily at someone else's desk and thinks "it's my job to tidy that up" ?

I can't fathom that at all

The OP has had 16 pages to tell us if he is, @Scaredandalonepls…

@MildredSauce
It's unbelievable isn't it?
I feel so sorry for the OP

Maybe this colleague is more senior.

Then the management would deal with it, presumably.

I've worked places whether both of these were done. The worst was the place where anything left on a desk was taken to the CEO's PA and you had a post it note left on your desk to tell you to go to her to collect it.

Only ever had that happen the once. She was formidable.

Surely clear desk policy means you put the paperwork somewhere safe.

Not bin anything on the desk?

Just to add. I think it's unwise to post a picture of your desk at work, with papers relating to your employer, on mumsnet. No doubt I'll be accused of being a fun sponge, but that wouldn't be acceptable in my place for confidentiality reasons.

This is just pathetic and asking for you to get in trouble at work. Are you always so obstructive for petty reasons? What an existence that must be.

What an unprofessional mess. That wouldn't be accepted at my work.

I do this but I keep it in ONE notebook or my physical work diary. You sound a bit full of yourself and I do wonder if your colleagues would have a different story to tell.

So if something that doesn’t belong to you doesn’t look important, you just throw it away? You wouldn’t just ignore it? I can’t see anything that justifies simply throwing it away instead of moving it to one side for the brief period this man was using the software on the OP’s machine.

I wouldn’t leave anything I wanted to keep on my desk as there’s always the risk someone will chuck it. I put it in the drawers.

I mean this guy is obviously just being a dick but there’s always (at least) one so better safe than sorry.

I've seen the photo and no harm to you but that doesn't look like stuff that's important. It looks a mess of random paper. I wouldn't realise it was important if I worked with you (albeit I'd have put it in a drawer if it was me, not thrown it away). Maybe get some kind of a notebook to keep personal notes in going forward?

I've read your updates and he sounds like an absolute bell end and as everyone else has personal stuff on their desk it is targeted solely at you.

Your workplace also sounds extremely weird if the management knows that he uses the ladies toilet when he feels like it, and leaves graffiti in toilets and this is all considered acceptable.

If the management don't know...why not?

I couldn't work in a place like that where someone can be totally unacceptable and there is no recourse.

I feel sad for you though these sorts of papers should be kept at home, not in work on your desk. Your colleague should have put them in a drawer or folder out the way if they bothered him that much. Doesn’t sound like they’re a nice person.

People coming up with elaborate revenge plans on this bloke are way worse than him. There is nothing on that photograph to indicate that those papers are anything other than detritus. They weren't attached to the monitor, or in a small container, or looking in any way important. People usually take care of things that are important to them.

I think this man has inadvertantly done you a favour, OP, and the New Year is a good time to feel the freedom of moving forward without scraps of paper littering your life.

Yes!!

So many women on here rushing to this absolute dick heads defence. Quite shocking!
It’s not normal to bin someone else’s stuff. You chuck in a drawer or a pile somewhere and message to say “all your stuff is here, not sure what you wanted to do with it”.
It doesn’t mean you have an issue with hoarding (as some clown above suggested) if you keep some personal things on your desk. The OMs I have worked with kept photos of their kids and personal diaries on their desks. Clear desks means majority of stuff and sensitive info is cleared away at end of day but it doesn’t sound like there is a clear desk policy at OPs place of work.
The man is a dick, who uses the woman’s toilets and chucks out other peoples stuff coz he’s got an attitude!
He was a dick OP, and I’d be pissed off as well.

I agree with this poster. He wouldn't get anymore help from me. I would be so mad at him. I would sellotape a notice to your desk saying "Do not remove anything from this desk" and point it out to him at every opportunity just to piss him off. What a little shit he is!

Just to add, the reason he sometimes has to use my desk is that there is certain software which is only on my pc. In fact, I had to show him how to use some of it today.

Show him fuck all in future. In fact, show him the wrong thing and then deny all knowledge when he fucks up later. Gaslight the bastard to within an inch of his sorry, inadequate, sad little life.

I am an employer myself and someone sat in that chaos would be asked to clean it all up by me.

That'd be your prerogative as the employer. You'd ask, and if they didn't reasonably comply then you could escalate as you saw fit.

But that's not the culture in the OPs office, and the guy who binned her stuff wasn't her employer or manager.

Urgh sorry but that is a mess, a mess that colleagues shouldn't have to put up with and cleaners shouldn't have to clean around.

It doesn't matter how forgetful you are this is not for an office. I am an employer myself and someone sat in that chaos would be asked to clean it all up by me.

Keep a diary or a calender or shove that mess into your bag and carry it around with you. Your desk isn't your desk, it's a dezk provided by your employer to carry out work, only work should be on it. I cannot stand peoples messy habits at work, we introduced hot desk for that very reason. It's beautifully clean and functional place for 100ish people to work now.

Yes I did. She likes her scribbles, she wouldn't like a digital diary. Theres no GDPR so she left her stuff. He sometimes uses her desk for the software on it, she hates him for a variety of reasons before this, his muddy boots and graffiti she attributes to him.

He might well be annoying and even piggish. But she knew he uses her desk, so she could have put her stuff away and by her own account he threw out some folded A4 paper and a calendar. I understand why she's upset but I can also understand someone not recognising its worth.

Only way to protect this stuff she sees as precious is put it away.

there is certain software which is only on my pc. In fact, I had to show him how to use some of it today.

I'd have been sorely tempted to say 'sorry, I've forgotten how to use it, can't help you'. I would not be helping him at all now if I could avoid it. Tell him he'll need to get the software put on his own pc.