Speaking up at work is often the admirable thing to do, but sometimes it can come back to bite you, especially when you try to mess with the big dogs.

One employee thought reporting her manager’s perceived inappropriate behavior would protect her, but instead, it left her more isolated than ever.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for reporting my boss to HR?

I recently reported my boss to HR for what I perceived to be harassment. Holy ****, do I regret it.

It started when I was hired. I had recently quit teaching because it was too much for the pay.

For her, this new job was a much-needed change.

I was SO happy to start working a desk job where I could log off at the end of the day and not think about work.

My new bosses were immediately surprised at my choices and kept inquiring as to why I was working in an entry-level job after teaching for so long. I told the truth about the stress and how I just wanted to work with adults.

But then someone started getting a little too inquisitive.

One guy in particular asked a lot of personal questions, but I am a people pleaser and laughed about it and tried to be as affable as possible.

He seemed overly interested in me sometimes when he came up to me, and one day friended me on Instagram.

I didn’t even know how he found me, and other things he had said about my looks made the Insta thing feel extra weird.

She decided to report it to HR, but soon learned HR wasn’t on her side.

I decided reporting it was the smart thing to do, right? WRONG.

Big corporations don’t give a crap if your manager is crossing boundaries with you. They care about public perception.

I’m essentially being blacklisted unofficially for reporting this guy now.

She’s noticed an immediate change in everyone else’s behavior toward her.

Managers won’t talk to me. People who used to greet me every time I come in won’t even make eye contact with me.

I’m not imagining it; it has been a month. Nothing has changed except what I said to the HR on site.

She soon discovers why.

I saw the guy I reported shooting the breeze the other day with the HR we have on site. I didn’t know he was such good friends with them, or I wouldn’t have even bothered reporting him.

I tried applying for other jobs internally, and my online apps didn’t get past the initial screening.

She can’t seem to find any support in her personal life either.

I tried venting about this to my girlfriend the other day, and she said the #MeToo movement is out of control and as long as no one is grabbing me, I should just be fine with it.

I actually think I may be TA now because I can handle discrimination and harassment, I’ve dealt with it all my life, but I don’t know how to handle this kind of workplace politics.

AITA?

She never expected to be punished this much just for speaking up.

What did Reddit think?

Maybe it’s time to just cut her losses completely at this job.

Knowing she faces an uphill battle, it’s important to build a compelling case.

This user wonders whether her case may have been lacking some important details.

This commenter seemed to think going to HR should have been her last resort.

What began as an act of courage just left her feeling punished and alone.

Instead of justice, she got stonewalled.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.