eating lunch at work
By windymyre
@windymyre (210)
United States
July 31, 2009 10:18am CST
I take my lunch to work not only to save money, but it is healthier than eating fast food. My problem is that nearly every time I'm heating up my lunch in the microwave or walking back to my office with my food, someone has a comment. Just this week it was the owner's son who walked by & said, "I hope it tastes better than it smells.". But most of the time it is people who want my lunch. I'll walk by & they try to take it & say, "oh, thanks, you brought me lunch!". Even after I'm in my office eating, people will smell it & come in to ask what I'm eating. I know it may not sound like a big deal, but I'm tired of it because it happens practically every day. Does anyone have anything tactful to say or just grin & bear it the best way to deal with this?
3 people like this
12 responses
@LaurenInLA (2270)
• United States
31 Jul 09
Are you able to close the door to the office? That's my solution. Also, if the weather is nice, bring a lawn chair to work and find a nice spot to sit outside and enjoy it.
2 people like this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
31 Jul 09
are you in a cubical? do you have a door that you can close? if the weather is nice, could you eat outside? these people seem pretty childish. maybe you could take salads? maybe these folks are just jealous, but i have no witty comebacks, sorry.
2 people like this
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
6 Aug 09
Well that first comment is just tactless. Snappy response to "hope it tastes better than it smells" could be "you'll never know"... And for "thanks, you brought me lunch" maybe "you wish" or "nice try"... It's probably not meant to be rude, just small talk. Me personally, I'd just go with the snappy comeback.
Reminds me of my last job though. We had a lot of oriental people who brought their lunch. And the lunch room was always full of the smell of warmed up fish. Yech. We used to joke that the lunch room was divided into two sections, fish and non-fish.
@hug14me (123)
•
5 Aug 09
I know exactly how you feel. I used to just grin and bear it, but it really started to bug me. For awhile when people asked I would just say "Oh, you know, the usual" and turn away if possible. I place my lunch as far away as possible from people walking by and can observe me with my lunch. On the occasions people would say "Gee, Thanks you brought me lunch" I would say "Ya, you wish" or "keep dreaming". After a week of that it all stopped. Now if people are really interested I would say "Want the receipt?" and if they are are that interested you can discuss it. I got a few good idea on changing some of my receipts. Good Luck.
1 person likes this
@larish (2234)
• Philippines
4 Aug 09
I don't bring my food at the office. We have a canteen that subsidize the price of the food we eat. I also like the food their because it is mostly organic. It is also healthy and would really be time preserving for me since I don't have to wake up early to prepare my lunch. Anyway, for your case, maybe your food is really delicious that is why most of them are trying to know what your food is. I guess you just have to be used to it and try to add some humor in answering them. Happy myloting.
1 person likes this
@sandestudio (28)
• United States
3 Aug 09
I would tell everyone that if they let you know the day before you would be more than happy to bring them lunch the next day. And that it will only cost them $10. If you have a door on your office, make your self a door hanger that says out to lunch and hang it on the door handle and shut the door. or get one of those signs with the clock on it that says be at and hang that on your door. If they still insist on coming in, tell them how happy you are that they stopped by but that you really need to use that personal time to catch up on a few personal tasks.
1 person likes this
@kaka135 (14931)
• Malaysia
2 Aug 09
I bring my lunch to work almost everyday, my colleagues have already got used to it, and they seldom invite me out for lunch also. They will always come and see what I have for the day, but it'll always be rice + some simple dishes (Chinese style), or sandwiches. They always think it's good for me to bring my own lunch, sometimes they asked me to prepare for them too, perhaps for fun. But, none of them criticized me before.
@djoyce71 (2511)
• Philippines
1 Aug 09
Me and my officemates eat together now in our office because we do not have much time to buy out and you're right it could save a lot. We bring our own lunch. Our office is not air conditioned, the windows are all opened when we eat, so there's not much problem about the smell. We established good relationship because of this bonding. We were able to talk about anything.
Don't mind them. Maybe, they just like to have some of your food.
@gcorp09 (940)
• Singapore
6 Aug 09
Well, I will say that you should treat them as a compliment. I guess that your lunch smells delicious, and that's why they are giving these comments. My husband also sometimes take his lunch to office to eat, and there are also lots of such remarks as well.
In any way, if you really feel tired about the comments made, I will suggest that maybe you eat outside the office after microwaving the food. If not, you could also bring some food which do not require heating up such as salads and sandwiches.
@grace118224 (1038)
• China
1 Aug 09
If eating lunch in the office is allowed then i think you don't have to care about what they are saying. People won't say repeated things for a long time . Just relax. i once took lunch to the office and found that very economical and time saving .
@subnetzero (13)
• United States
31 Jul 09
I usually bring something like a sandwich and a piece of fruit which doesn't require heating up or anything. Does your office have a fridge you can store something like that in? They also aren't as rich in scent and should therefore not draw much attention. Plus if it's a good day you can just put your lunch bag in your regular bag, walk outside and enjoy a nice lunch outside.
No it's not quite as convenient as throwing a microwavable lunch in your bag in the morning but if you can find 2 minutes to make it, most likely it will be even healthier than the microwavable lunch and won't cause such a commotion. Hope this helps.
