ABSTRACT
Paul Jones arrived at 7:30 a.m. at the large construction company where he worked, about a half hour early, as usual. He entered the building and gave the obligatory “Good morning” as he walked past a few coworkers. He sat down at his desk and, as he waited for his computer to power up, looked carefully around the office. Noticing that a couple of things seemed out of place, Paul immediately headed toward his supervisor’s office and went on the offensive, demanding to know who had been in his office. As a mechanical engineer, Paul was accustomed to working by himself and liked it that way. So, in his mind, there was really no reason for anyone to have been in his office, digging through his things. His supervisor, Greg, recognizing Paul’s tendency to be suspicious and aggressive, calmly explained that he and another manager had worked late the night before and needed a file from Paul’s office. Greg assured him that that was all they needed and that they would never look into his personal items. With that explanation, Paul left and returned to his office. He was very upset that they had opened his file cabinet when he wasn’t there, invading his personal space.
