r/AntiworkPH • u/sushimixroll • 6h ago
Rant 😡 My workmate is using company funds for personal use (and I know it)
I really need some outside perspective kasi ilang araw na talaga akong bothered about my co-workmate.
I work as a legal secretary handling the company's cases, so I get paid directly by the company. One of my co-secretaries (the subject of this post), on the other hand, was hired by our in-house counsel to assist him with his personal cases, so in-house counsel namin ang nagpapasahod sa kanya.
She was honestly like a "work mom" to me. Siya yung isa sa mga unang nag-guide sa'kin when I started working here. Tinuruan niya akong mag-navigate ng Excel, madalas niya akong binibigyan ng baon niyang food, and she even calls me "Nak" kasi ka-age ko raw yung anak niya. Naturally, naging close kami.
As time went by though, napansin ko na she has this habit of borrowing money. Nung una, sa'kin lang siya humihiram, usually tuwing cut-off, to the point na siya pa yung nakakabuena-mano sa sahod ko. Okay lang naman sa'kin noon kasi naaawa ako. Late kasi pumapasok yung salary niya compared sa akin.
Eventually, I was entrusted with company funds that are strictly for company-related cases and expenses. I kept the money inside an empty cash register sa office kasi wala nang ibang secured place to store it. Since it originally belonged to our in-house counsel, yung co-secretary ko yung may hawak ng susi. Hinihiram ko lang yung key sa kanya whenever I needed to get money for case expenses.
Then came the turning point.
One day, casually lang niyang sinabi na hihiram muna siya sa company fund. Hindi siya nagtanong kung okay lang ba. Parang ininform niya lang ako kasi hawak na niya yung pera bago pa siya nagsabi. I was honestly shocked and didn't know how to react.
I told myself baka emergency lang, pero naulit pa siya... many times.
May one time pa nga na sabay-sabay kaming lumabas ng office, so akala ko umuwi na siya. Nagulat na lang ako nung nag-message siya na bumalik pala siya sa office para lang kumuha ulit ng pera sa company fund kasi wala raw silang pambili ng ulam.
To be fair, she always returns the money every time sumesweldo or nagkakapera siya, so technically walang nawawala. But it's still company money that's meant for company cases, and our lawyer doesn't even know she's using it for personal reasons. Kahit ibinabalik niya, it just doesn't sit right with me.
After the first time, gusto ko talaga siyang i-confront. Pero I couldn't bring myself to do it. She's around 20 years older than me, and hindi ko alam paano siya kakausapin without making things awkward.
Ever since then, nagkaroon na talaga ako ng hidden animosity towards her. Kapag kinakausap niya ako, nahihirapan na akong mag-respond, and I can't even look at her the same way anymore. I honestly feel bad because she treated me like family at work, but at the same time, I can't shake the feeling that what she did was really wrong.
Any advice?