Delete The Chat, But Not The Memory

Some of us at work have a WhatsApp group. One colleague who was just coming to work started sending laughing emojis before saying that what he was sharing was too hilarious not to share. Then followed a series of photos of an elderly woman on a bus, whose skirt was ruffled up, exposing her underwear, which had a prominent stain. Most of us were together at the front, tidying the store before opening. One manager, who was also in the group, went pale at the photos, and finished work early.

We were all a bit confused and found the photos awkward to look at, so the admin removed us all and deleted the group. Since the chat was technically outside work, the colleague couldn’t get in trouble for it. It did make working with her rather awkward, though.

As for the manager who left, we later found out that the elderly woman was his aunt who had Alzheimer’s and had been missing for two days. Although he was thankful that she was found, it made working with the colleague and the manager even more awkward. The manager eventually took leave to care for his aunt.

What makes it worse for me is, I found the colleague the other day laughing at something on her phone. She noticed and showed me. It was the same photos she had shared on WhatsApp.