A reader writes:
I have a very low-stakes query that I’ve been questioning about since I left my final job a few years in the past.
In my earlier position, I shared a four-person workplace with two junior staff and one different senior worker. The different senior worker, Sam, had 20 years extra expertise than I did, however we had the identical job title and had been equals hierarchically. He usually tried to behave like he was my superior, however I primarily ignored his provocations and simply took care of my duties whereas minimizing interactions with him. We didn’t have client-facing roles and our workplace didn’t have a lot of foot visitors or guests, however we had been close to the principle entrance, so very sometimes a customer who received misplaced would come by our workplace and ask for instructions.
At some level I received on a little bit of a well being kick and began making myself wholesome breakfasts — issues like acai bowls or in a single day oats in a mason jar — and bringing them to the workplace to eat very first thing within the morning. I would sometimes add spinach or spirulina, so typically these breakfasts had been green-colored. I tried to be conscientious about noise and by no means made something crunchy that my workplace mates must take heed to me chewing. Other than the noise, I didn’t fear a lot about it as a result of we regularly had meals or snacks within the workplace: someone would deliver cookies again after lunch, or pastries within the morning, or sweet round Easter, and so forth., so I thought it wasn’t a downside to eat within the workplace.
One morning I was known as out of our workplace for a assembly and I left my inexperienced in a single day oats on my desk. When I got here again, Sam said to me, “Hey, someone came by and said that you need to stop eating at your desk because it’s not professional.” I knew everybody in our 60-person firm, so I requested him who had said it. He was evasive — “Oh, it’s not important who said it”; “The person said not to tell you who they were”; “A few people have commented on it now” — however I stored urgent, and at last he said, “It was someone in HR.” Our HR division at the time was just one individual, and I occurred to know that she was out that day.
So I knew Sam was lying to me, however I thought that possibly my consuming was bothering him and he simply didn’t need to inform me. I determined to cease bringing in my wholesome breakfasts, regardless that they introduced me pleasure in a pretty joyless job, with a purpose to preserve the peace in our shared workplace. The VERY NEXT DAY, although, Sam introduced in a tray of croissants, one among which he was consuming whereas leaning over my desk and leaving croissant flakes throughout my work floor. I (slightly snarkily) said to him, “Oh, I thought eating in the office was unprofessional?” and he innocently replied, “I never said that, it was HR!”
I by no means introduced it up once more — and in addition by no means introduced breakfast in once more — and fortunately left that job for a significantly better alternative simply a few months later. But in that context, what’s etiquette for consuming at your desk? And is there an precise distinction between consuming one thing like in a single day oats, or pastries that everybody can share?
Sam was simply a liar, and a significantly dangerous liar too. He thought he may inform you that some nameless individual ordered you to cease consuming at your desk and you’ll simply comply with out asking any questions? Or that you’d settle for “it’s not important who said it”? (It is!) Or “the person said not to tell you who they were”? (No one with the authority to situation that edict would refuse to let you already know it got here from them, since that may take away the edict’s energy.) And it didn’t happen to him that when he lastly blamed HR, you would possibly resolve to confirm that with them?
Anyway, no, consuming in your workplace is just not unprofessional.
There are some workplaces the place it’s not carried out due to the norms of that specific workplace — however you already knew that you simply weren’t in one among them, as a result of folks introduced in meals on a regular basis. Sometimes there are sub-norms in a specific office too, like that it’s not carried out by folks with out their very own workplaces, or by folks whose desks are in areas that guests see after they stroll in. But once more, that doesn’t sound just like the case for you.
And there isn’t sometimes a “shared food only” rule; if it’s an workplace the place folks eat shared meals at their desks, you’re more likely to see folks herald their very own meals too.
My guess is that Sam was grossed out by your inexperienced in a single day oats (they’re not significantly visually interesting when you’re unfamiliar with them — they do seem like inexperienced mush, though that’s none of his enterprise) and determined he was entitled to attempt to get you to cease (he wasn’t).
The etiquette for consuming at your desk is just to be considerate in regards to the influence on others — which suggests issues like sturdy smells or loud noises, not that someone might need to see a jar of inexperienced mush.
