A woman who experienced body shaming in the workplace has expressed her frustration after her boss called her "fat" just a few weeks after she returned to work following her maternity leave.
The mum explained that her work had hired a new manager while she was away so she hadn't met the man before she came back from giving birth to her son, but had thought he was "nice and friendly" at first.
But she said that during their lunch break one day, he told her that her weight was "unattractive" and called her the "only fat woman in our department".
The mum was defended by her co-workers at the time, and she was later asked by her manager if she would have dinner with him as a way to apologise for what he had said - which she declined.
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In a post on Reddit, she explained: "I'm 32 years old and work for a good company with a good salary. I recently returned from maternity leave after giving birth to my son. Everything is new, especially with a new manager.
"He does seem nice and friendly, but he has a habit of speaking his mind without hesitation. It's been a week since this happened. We were eating lunch together when he mentioned my weight and how unattractive it looks that I'm the only 'fat' woman in our department.
"Because it hasn't been long since I gave birth, I'm still emotional due to hormones and can't stop crying in front of everyone. One of my coworkers, who is much older, scolded our manager and told him that being pregnant is difficult and that he shouldn't say things like that when he has never experienced the difficulties that I have.
"I am grateful to all of my coworkers for standing up for me, and I believe it embarrassed him.
"My manager called me the next day and invited me to a fancy restaurant, which I declined. I told him there was no need for that and left his office."
But in response to his apology dinner being turned down, the woman's boss doubled down on his comments, calling her "arrogant" for her actions.
The woman added: "Later in the meeting, he invited everyone and announced that I would not be attending because I am a woman who is too arrogant to accept his apology and that he would prefer that I stay at home.
"I go home crying and told my husband everything. I know he is more tired than me but I really appreciate how he told me that I'm a strong woman and should find a new job.
"I have very low self-esteem, which makes me very sad and guilty. I've been working there for almost 8 years."
Commenters on the Reddit post were firmly on the woman's side, with many encouraging her to make a formal HR complaint about her boss' behaviour.
One person said: "I'd go to HR for him being discriminatory and promoting a hostile work environment."
While another added: "Report him. He's bullying and harassing you. His comments about your appearance are totally out of line and unprofessional and he deliberately humiliated and punished you in front of coworkers."
And someone else wrote: "At the point where you rejected his apology I thought maybe you should give him a chance but he clearly proved after that he doesn't feel any sorrow and doesn't deserve a chance."
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