There are many kinds of office drama — but arguably none of them cause as much distress and disdain as the smells that emanate from the office microwave.
Whether it’s the percolation of burnt popcorn or the unfortunate aroma of steamed broccoli, here are several culprits, plus how to get past them.
Eggs. It doesn’t matter if it’s hard-boiled eggs or an egg salad sandwich: Pungent is the only way to describe the protein-heavy meal. “… Though you may relish the wafting fumes of an egg salad sandwich, chances are your officemates do not,” Ladan Nikravan Hayes, a career advisor at CareerBuilder, wrote in an email.
Fish. Multiple Twitter users didn’t hesitate to describe their disdain for fish. “Broccoli and fish. Nothing else matters! Disgusting stench through the halls, nauseating!” one user wrote. Another said, “At my office we have a notorious fish microwaver. It’s an open office and boy, does that ruin a lot of appetites.”
Burnt popcorn. No one wants to be that person. When picking their worst-smelling office food, one Twitter user wrote, “Popcorn because it smells forever and people always burn it.”
Experts also pointed to other problematic foods like smelly vegetables and more.
As for how to deal with such unseemly food smells at work? If it’s something you’re adding to your food, try adding in a spice after heating up your meal even if you’re just slightly concerned. “A lot of times people have very sensitive allergies so that even smelling a certain type of food will cause them to have a reaction,” Nikravan Hayes added.
And even if your co-worker’s habits only bother you a little bit, they still might be worth talking about. “At the end of the day, pet peeves and bothersome behavior can be extremely frustrating and cause serious long-term conflict if not addressed sooner than later,” Heather Hurst, director of corporate marketing at Workfront, wrote in an email.
One Twitter user has an even more straightforward idea: Avoid going into the office at all.
“Seeing as I work remote 99% of my life, I have no skin in this game. However, in my former newsroom the rule was no fish. Period. #gross,” the user wrote.
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Please Don’t Put These Foods In Your Office Microwave originally appeared on usnews.com
