Teen Worker Says Her Older Coworker Kept “Accidentally” Touching Her at Work

An 18-year-old retail worker says she tried to tell herself her older coworker was only being friendly, but after repeated brushes, arm touches, close standing, and one hand on her lower back at the register, she started wondering if the “accidents” were not accidents at all.

She explained in a Reddit post that she had only been working at the retail store for a couple of months. The coworker, who she guessed was in his mid-20s, did not set off alarms at first. He seemed normal enough, joked with people, and acted friendly around the rest of the staff.

That was part of what made the situation confusing.

At first, the things he did were small enough that she questioned herself. He would brush past her even when there was enough room to walk by without touching her. He would touch her arm while talking. None of it lasted long, and none of it happened in a way that felt dramatic enough for her to immediately call it out.

So she ignored it.

But then it started happening more often.

One day, she was working at the register when he came up behind her like he was helping. Instead of simply standing nearby or using his words, he put his hand on her lower back for a second. It was brief, but it felt unnecessary to her. The kind of touch that is easy for someone else to dismiss, but hard to forget when you are the one it happened to.

He also had a habit of standing too close in the stock room. She said there would be enough space for him to spread out, but he still stood near her in a way that made her notice his presence every time.

That detail mattered because this was not a crowded space where people were forced shoulder-to-shoulder. In her view, there was room. He just was not using it.

Still, she kept second-guessing herself because he did not act strange in every other way. He joked with coworkers. No one else seemed uncomfortable around him. He did not openly say anything alarming or make some huge scene. He acted normal enough that she wondered if she was turning ordinary coworker behavior into something bigger than it was.

She brought it up to two friends and got two very different responses.

One friend immediately told her it sounded creepy. Another said some people are just naturally touchy and she might be reading too much into it.

That left her stuck between two uncomfortable options. If she said something and he truly was just an overly touchy person, work could become awkward fast. But if she said nothing and he was testing what he could get away with, then staying quiet might make him think she was fine with it.

By the time she posted, she had not confronted him. She said she did not want to make things weird at work if she was wrong. But the pattern had gotten to the point where she noticed every time he came near her.

That is what made the post feel so familiar. The worker was not describing one isolated bump in a busy aisle. She was describing a pattern: brushing past when there was room, touching her arm during conversation, standing too close in the stock room, and putting a hand on her lower back while she was at the register.

Individually, each moment could be explained away. Together, they made her feel watched, crowded, and uneasy in a place where she was supposed to be able to do her job.

She asked if she was overreacting by thinking the behavior was weird.

The post did not include a later update saying whether she reported it, confronted him, or talked to management. But the conflict was clear: she was young, new at the job, and worried about being seen as dramatic, while an older coworker kept crossing physical boundaries she had never invited.

What commenters said

Most commenters told her she was not overreacting. A lot of people said the coworker’s behavior sounded like boundary-testing, especially because the touches were subtle enough that he could pretend they were harmless if she called him out.

Several people encouraged her to say something simple and direct the next time it happened. They suggested lines like telling him she does not like being touched or asking why he is standing so close when there is plenty of room. The goal, they said, was to make it clear she noticed and did not approve.

Others told her to report it to a manager or HR, especially because she was only 18 and still new to the workplace. They said she should not have to handle it alone or worry about protecting his feelings when he was the one making her uncomfortable.

Some commenters pushed back slightly and said it was possible he was just a touchy person. But even then, many said that did not mean she had to accept it. A workplace is not the place to assume coworkers are okay with casual touching, especially when the contact includes someone’s lower back.

A few people also warned her not to be alone with him when addressing it. They said if she chose to confront him directly, she should do it in a public area or around other coworkers.

The strongest advice was simple: trust the discomfort, set the boundary clearly, and document what happens next. If he stops, good. If he keeps doing it, then the “accidental” excuse gets a lot harder to believe.