Employee records her manager during their 1 on 1 meeting: 'Is this normal now? Is she building a case against me?'

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  _{A manager conducts a one-on-one meeting with her employee, who is secretly recording her every word.}

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• My employee was recording our 1 on 1, and I don't know how to feel.

  

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  _{Employee pulls up a recording and transcription app on her phone.}

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• Maybe she could assume positive intent, since her employee didn't hide that she was recording. Maybe she's a young professional who was taught that it's better to be safe than sorry when it comes to her manager's words. Perhaps she has never been taught that recording her manager might come off as an unspoken intimidation tactic. 

  On the other hand, maybe she really wanted to send a message to her manager that she has everything she says on record, and that if she ever crosses her, she will report her for her transgressions. If the manager has done nothing to warrant such an extreme stance, then this is unlikely to be the case. 

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• The main reason this doesn't bode well is that the employee didn't ask for her permission to record the meeting. If she had, she could explain to her manager her intent: whether to listen to it back later to make sure she didn't forget anything, or to take notes so she could be fully attentive during the meeting. 

  The fact that she didn't ask permission makes me think she has looked up the laws on one-party consent recording in the workplace and is recording because she knows her manager can't legally tell her to stop. 

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  _{Employee writes down action items with a pen and paper instead of recording them on her phone.}

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• Would this situation be different if the manager were recording her employees' words without their consent? Is one more acceptable than the other? 

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