I work as a freelancer in the media field and this week has been crazy due to all the Olympic coverage. We have more people, more work and of course… more “bones of contention” with one another. In fact we seem to have developed “teams” and rivalries of our own – over food! I swear this is some of the craziest stuff I have ever seen; and from adults no less.

Here’s how it went down:

The company decided to cater snack food for us and set it up on a table down the hall from the kitchen, right beside the sports department. Naturally those in the news department went over to the abundant spread and indulged themselves too – that is until the sports people became selfish and rude, not allowing those in news to eat their goodies. News then retaliated by claiming the kitchen as well as all inside it as theirs (they get catered snacks too). They even put up a sign which read “FOR NEWS ONLY – NO SPORTS!” The most ridiculous part of this whole thing is the food choices were very similar and there was a surplus – everyone could partake in all the food and we would still have leftovers! The worst part: I’m caught in the middle, because I help out both departments! Actually truth be told its not so bad. I get the novelty of the sports snack table, while enjoying the kitchen and all its conveniences as well – but it has provided for some awkward situations.

This wouldn’t be so bad if it were a one time thing. I could chalk it up to stress and just move on, but this happens all the time. People are always complaining about how someone stole their lunch/soda/snack from the fridge, or how “so-and-sos” food smells really bad. This got me thinking, does this kind of food fighting happen in all offices? Does anyone else have a lunch thief in their workplace? Because we can’t get rid of ours – not even passive aggressive notes on the fridge have deterred him. Any advice or even just the knowledge that I am not alone would really help right now – because if I have to hear about this kind of stuff one more time, I might just kill someone!

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6 Responses

  1. pinkwolfie

    Hi- first timer here who wanted to make you feel a little better. No smell can be as bad as that produced by my colleague’s bean salad- just a putrid mess. My boss also puts cooked prawns in the fridge and then forgets about them for weeks.

    Reply
  2. Aaronichi

    As this youtube clip illustrates, food has always been an issue in the workplace.

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth

    At my old job we shared a floor with the corporate parent. The people who worked for the parent company were unfriendly stiffs, which is bad enough, but they’d always take any snacks or treats somene from our company brought in.

    I swear, it caused more tension in meetings than actual work-related stuff.

    Reply

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