Imagine working at a company where a lot of work communication is done via text messages to your personal cell phone number. If your supervisor’s texts were getting too personal and making you uncomfortable, would you learn to live with it, talk to him about it, go to HR, or block his number?

In this story, one woman is in this situation, and she goes to HR. When that doesn’t help, she tries another approach that makes her supervisor furious.

Keep reading for all the details.

AITA for blocking my direct supervisor’s phone number?

I have worked at my corporate job for about 2 years and have had the same direct supervisor/manager the whole time.

I had no problem with him until roughly 2 months ago when he asked me on a date outside of work hours.

I politely declined as I simply don’t go there with work colleagues/superiors due to a personal conviction of mine, nothing against him whatsoever.

He took the rejection well and never brought it up again.

But his texts are making her uncomfortable.

However, since then he has been sending me compliments via text message.

They don’t happen every day, maybe once or twice a week, and they are never too innocuous, usually something like “I liked the shirt you wore today” or “your hair looks nice.”

Even still, these messages have taken on a new meaning to me knowing that he has/had romantic interest in me, and they make me uncomfortable.

HR wasn’t helpful.

I did not want to go to him about this as I didn’t want to disrupt our professional relationship further, so I went to HR with the messages.

They told me there wasn’t really anything they could do as he didn’t push the issue of the date and nothing he has said to me since has crossed a line.

Well, whether or not they cross this arbitrary HR “line,” they make me uncomfortable, and if no one was going to do anything about it, then I would!

So I blocked his number a few days ago.

But he can still contact her.

Of note, we have a professional work email that he can use to get into contact with me.

While most of our communications are admittedly done through text, it isn’t like he didn’t have a way of getting work information to me via email or in person by coming to my office.

But apparently he doesn’t use the work email at all.

This morning, he stormed into my office demanding to know why I hadn’t completed any of the tasks he assigned me this week.

I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about as I didn’t receive any of the tasks he described.

He told me he texted me about them.

I said I am not receiving text messages from him anymore.

That escalated quickly!

He was LIVID.

He started screaming at me and ended up writing me up for poor communication and not completing assigned work, especially since one of the assignments was of particular importance to a major client of ours.

I tried to tell him that if the tasks were that urgent and I wasn’t responding, he could have followed up via email or by simply stopping by my office to ask how the tasks were progressing.

He told me he never had to baby me like that in the past and if I didn’t unblock his number to allow for open work communication he would fire me. AITA?

I think she should go back to HR. She shouldn’t be required to conduct work communication via personal texts. From now on, he can communicate with her via email or in person.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

Here’s a suggestion to get a lawyer.

Evidence is important.

Another person suggests going back to HR.

One person shares what worked for them.

Unless the company is paying for her phone, she shouldn’t be required to use it.

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.