【The Workplace Plagiarism Drama】

— A story about the small magic of being appreciated

※This article is approximately 1650 characters.

One day at work, I witnessed a strange scene.

Colleague A was handing out snacks and receiving "thank yous" from those around them. The eyes of B, who was watching this, were shining with a somewhat damp, intense light.

B is a man in his 60s, with a wife and children, a home of his own, and over 20 years of work experience. On the surface, he looks like a model of a stable life.

But that day, B took an unexpected action.

He actually stole the snacks from A, pretended he had bought them himself, and started handing them out to everyone.

And the people around him, knowing nothing, were smiling at B and saying "thank you."

■ The little "thank you" that everyone craves

The value of the snacks might only be 200 to 300 yen.

※Specifically, Alfort chocolate

But the act of handing them out carries a much greater meaning.

A little bit of thoughtfulness. A little bit of presence.

It is a small magic for creating "gentle connections" with others.

A bought that magic with their own money.

On the other hand, B exercised that magic by stealing it from someone else's pocket.

How should we accept this difference?

■ Men who cannot say "I want you to understand"

Ethically speaking, B's behavior is clear "plagiarism."

But it feels somewhat hesitant to dismiss it as simple evil.

Perhaps B had a desperate desire to "be noticed" or "be seen by someone."

—But he couldn't put that feeling into words.

—Let alone pay for it out of his own pocket.

As a result, he resorted to the easiest and most despicable method.

That is, hijacking someone else's goodwill for his own sake.

But in the background, there was a sadly human thirst: "Even so, I wanted someone to say thank you to me."

■ The diminutive trickster: Children in old age

B looks like a kind of "degraded trickster."

He breaks norms and causes small ripples in society, but there is no wisdom or creativity in it.

All that exists is an immature desire for approval: "I want to be noticed, too."

This might be the shriveled self-expression of an older generation that has succeeded socially but whose emotional maturity has not kept pace.

At home, in the community, and at work, the opportunities to be told "you are doing a good job" are decreasing.

That is precisely why excessive meaning is placed on a mere "thank you."

■ Who can blame this "plagiarism"?

Of course, from an ethical standpoint, B's behavior should be blamed.

But can we really laugh it off?

※I laughed at it as a heartwarming scene.

Perhaps we, too, in our daily lives,

• Speak other people's ideas as our own words

• Imitate popular actions to gain approval

• Wish to be told "you're working hard too" through small cheats

In such ways, we might be borrowing the "magic of approval" without even realizing it.

■ Conclusion: What he stole wasn't the snacks

What B stole was not the snacks.

"The situation of being thanked"That was it.

And that was the approval of existence itself: "It is okay for you to be here."

Therefore, instead of dismissing this incident as just a "weird workplace episode,"
"Why do people go this far just to be seen?"We should open it up to that question.

【Afterword】

If you read this article and thought, "That guy is the worst"—

Please, within that anger,the "desire to be seen" within yourselfI want you to try and find where it is.

Perhaps we, too, are living by quietly borrowing someone else's "magic."

"Learn from others' mistakes"

That is the true intention of this article.

……Furthermore, B has a loving family.

His wife and daughter are beautiful, and they celebrate his birthday with cake and wine.

Even so, he wanted a "thank you" at work.

Even if one is fulfilled at home, perhaps it is the nature of human beings to need different approval in different places.

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