Office etiquette question..?

Question

There are several of my co-workers that eat at their desk for lunch, in our office. However, is it considered bad etiquette if the food they have has a strong, or unpleasant smell? Today several people had ordered Indian/Thai food, and the garlic smell filled up the entire office... Am I being touchy, or is this just plain rude?

Answer 1

The office I work for is pretty laid back, well ok very laid back. Now we all share a lunch room and occasionally people eat at their desk. It's considered semi-rude to bring in strong smelling fish or other food. People will make comments openly. Usually the person ingesting the pungent food will apologize first. If there's windows in your office, open one up. Otherwise this is a situation which requires much tact to avoid pissing off your coworkers and alienating yourself until you're on the road to getting fired or working in a hellish environment. Do you bring in your own smelly food? If no then you have a right to complain, but how far your complaints go is another story. If you yourself bring in your own lunches of stinky food then you're a hypocrite and need to just shut up. Try to find out as quietly as possible if others feel the same way as you. If you're the only one then I would just say consider it one of the cons of the job. And you can either quit or put up with it. If you're the only one who has a problem, you don't have a window and/or you bring in your own smelly food, you need to stop complaining and humble yourself. Because if those are your circumstances and you can't put up with someone else's smelly food for a bit, you're way too spoiled. And be glad you aren't working with philippinos or koreans. Where I used to work they cooked bamboo shoots sometimes and other things that smelled like a NY subway bathroom.

Answer 2

This is a difficult question to answer -- it can be dependent upon the size of your office, how many people, etc. Are you allergic to the odor or does it just bother you? I have a similar problem with cologne/perfume, which gives me migraines, but that is more personal and health-oriented, so I try to deal with it on a one-to-one basis and luckily everyone has been very understanding so far.

But in your case, if no one has ever mentioned to these people that this odor bothers some people, they are probably not even aware of it, so it cannot really be rude. To be truly rude, you must be aware that your behavior is offensive, don't you? So maybe if you try first to just casually mention it to someone without making a *big* deal out of it, a way can be worked out that will make everyone happy without banning the food. Maybe a picnic once in a while, in the fresh outdoors? Good luck!

Answer 3

Well, when you work in an environment that allows people to bring food to the desk and eat, it's hard to say you can bring this, but not that. So it's sort of all or nothing. If the food is really that bad, perhaps you should talk to your supervisor about people eating in the office and the smells. He/She may agree and tell workers to eat in the breakroom. Otherwise you may just have to get some room deoderizer.:-)

Answer 4

You raised a good point. I think it is rude for anyone to bring stinky food into the office. I would just gag at my desk in a way that those people would become aware of your problem. Or maybe you could bring something really smelly in a jar that you could open when they show up with their smelly food and say that the small of the jar helps kill the smell of their food and prevents you from gagging.

Suggest to your employer that they provide a lunch or break room.

Answer 5

If you are the only one that it offends, then you're too touchy. If there are others in the office that feel the same way you do, then your not. I'd be careful how you handle the situation though. It may be something you can not resolve and you may have to live with it. So, don't burn your bridges. Be tactful and discreet when polling your fellow office workers.

Answer 6

Its kinda rude to complain about others peoples food. I know I hate to smell other peoples food in my office but there is nothing you can really do about it and if several people are eating it what can you do about it anyways?

Answer 7

I agree that it is somewhat rude, but for a different reason. The crumbs that fall onto the desks will eventually attract ants not to mention the possibility of mice. Of course, at the point, they will all point fingers and place blame on the other coworkers who eat at their desks.

Answer 8

My co-workers just make a comment like: "I smell onions!" or "What is that that you're eating the scent is really strong." They do it in a nice way so that no one is offended, but the message is, "Hey, we know what you're eating and it's stinking up the whole office." Our main offender has taken the hint and has stopped bringing in her weird concoctions.

Answer 9

I think you are being touchy. What smells unpleasant to one person may smell great to someone else. What about perfumes, body odors, flatulence?? All of these offend at one point or another. We are faced with ethnic diversity in all aspects of our daily lives and we should embrace our differences. They are not going away.

Answer 10

No touching beyond a handshake. No suggestions of a sexual nature. No remarks that are racist, sexist, homophobic, religious, or personal. No backstabbing. Follow these rules if you don't want to succeed in the company. If you want to go places in the workplace then you'd best disregard all suggestions above.