I guess this is just a rant but it's having me more anti-work than ever before. I work at a local indie movie theater and while the movie is going, after everyone is taken care of, myself and my coworkers often eat in the lobby because it's genuinely the only space we have to do so. Today the big owner of the theater, who is on site maybe twice a year and does not know anyone's names or positions nor what movies we're playing, came in and saw us sitting in the lobby with some of us (including me) eating our lunch. He left the lobby after staring at us silently for a few minutes and came back a few more minutes later. He was peeking at the concessions, so I said hi and asked how he was doing and if he needed anything from us. He said no. He walked over to my right and I could see he had his camera open and was filming a video of all of us and what we were doing.
He left right after this without saying anything else to us but I'm so infuriated and uncomfortable that he would secretly record videos on his phone of us. He is a removed rich old white man who knows nothing about the everyday flow of the workplace he owns. I don't think my job is on the line for sitting and eating because my GM wouldn't let me get fired for it, so I'm not worried just disgusted. I've never had or heard of any other boss doing this…even if I was running around talking to customers and being a perfect employee in that moment, I would still be grossed out that he did this.