Sometimes what people see in a piece of art says more about the viewer than the artist, which seemed to be the case for an office workplace in Oklahoma. Reddit user Electronic-Sell-6402 had 3D-printed a tea steeper at home and brought it to work. Its charming design of a person fishing rubbed someone the wrong way and led to a wild saga with OP’s boss and the HR department.
Electronic Sell says that a co-worker made a complaint to their boss’s boss about an “object inappropriate for the work environment.” Apparently, this nosy individual claimed the tea steeper looked like someone sitting on a toilet. As a result, Electronic Sell said they got a message from HR, demanding they remove the 3D-printed decor by the end of the day.
OP wasn’t going down without a fight, and showed the tea steeper to their boss, who thought it looked “adorable.” They then reached out to HR and requested a representative come to confirm whether the “object is inappropriate.” Long story short, the representative didn’t think the fishing figure was offensive at all and allegedly even asked OP to print one for them.
The Workplace’s Boss and HR Sided with OP Over The 3D-Printed Tea Steeper Drama
What Electronic Sell found infuriating wasn’t just being reported over a small, homemade item to make their desk feel cozy. This co-worker allegedly lied, claiming that the “whole team” found their 3D-printed steeper offensive. After HR inspected the object, they agreed that the report was ridiculous and offered to file a complaint of harassment against this co-worker.
Redditors were also on HR’s side and saw nothing worth being offended over with the tea steeper. “I could think of a much more unprofessional way to hold tea bags with a 3d printed model,” said a user. “This is fine.”
“They see someone fishing and think toilets. They clearly have issues,” remarked another. “This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard,” exclaimed a third. “I can’t imagine the pettiness of someone who would report something like this to HR.”
In the end, OP fortunately got to keep their cute tea steeper, as it won the hearts of both their boss and HR. As for this co-worker who made the report, Electronic Sell has concluded that “Now they are on the enemies list.”
