I essentially sent an email to our head office about the problems my manager has been causing. A few weeks ago, I was talking on the phone with my coworker before my shift, letting him know I was going to send the email. I asked him to proof read it because he was also involved in all of this. I was outside having a smoke before my shift, still not on store property.
Yesterday I was called into a meeting because “we've overheard that you're gossiping! this is unacceptable!” Even after explaining that I asked him to proof read the email as he was involved in this and we were not “gossiping”, we were lectured on being “immature and unprofessional.” Neither of us were on the clock, we were both talking during our spare time, off store property. The kicker is, I also asked another coworker to proof read it, but I didn't talk to them out loud about it. The fact that I sent it to them was not mentioned, only this one individual who I spoke to aloud.
The only explanation for this is my manager was sitting in their car, shut their shit down, and started eavesdropping on me when they realized they had an opportunity. They have tinted windows and love to take work calls in the car so we don't “snoop” (plot twist: we don't gaf). It was before my shift, so I didn't know the manager was in, let alone hiding in their car. They also park as far away from the store as possible, whereas I was standing on the curb beyond the parking lot. This manager has a grudge against myself and the person I was speaking aloud to, so I'm pretty sure this is just “retaliation.” They also mentioned “be careful who you talk to because you never know who's listening!”, which makes me all the more suspicious that it really was my manager eavesdropping but she couldn't admit to it, and phrased it to suggest it was my coworker/friend telling on me to turn us against each other. I am absolutely certain he's not.
My bad for thinking I was safe to ask a coworker to proof read an important email about my future at the company while not on store property and off the clock because clearly that's just gossiping!!