Was this intentional, a microaggression, or am I reading too much into it?

Title: Was this intentional, a microaggression, or am I reading too much into it?

Today evening, something slightly strange happened at work and I’d like an outside perspective.

My reporting authority came over to speak with me. While we were talking, he took out what appeared to be his metro card along with a small folded chit/piece of paper. While doing this, two small bits of paper fell out and landed on the floor near my feet.

What confused me was that he seemed to notice—or at least didn’t seem concerned about—the pieces of paper falling there. He didn’t pick them up and simply continued the conversation.

I’m trying not to jump to conclusions. It could have been completely accidental and he may not even have noticed or cared about the paper. At the same time, because it fell right near my feet and he left it there, the interaction felt a little odd and disrespectful to me.

Would you interpret something like this as intentional behaviour or a possible microaggression, or does it sound more like an ordinary coincidence that I’m overthinking?

Also, what would you do next? Ignore a one-off incident and only pay attention if there is a repeated pattern, or address it in some way?

I’m especially interested in perspectives from people who have dealt with subtle workplace behaviour like this.

Posted Aug 12, 2026, 2:14 PM UTC

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