I used to be guilty of this. For years I would just eat my lunch at my desk and not think a thing of it. That was when I didn’t have someone sitting right across for me. For years I had great desks. Well, over the past few months, since I moved to another part of the office, I now understand how annoying this can be.
The smells. The smacking. The gulping. The talking with their mouth full. It’s disgusting. Actually, I should really separate the two. First of all, someone comes back with their lunch (either nuked in the microwave or a quick stop at good burger) and soon the smell is wafting over to my side. If I have not had lunch or, maybe, not going to have lunch, just that smell is horrible to deal with. Now, if I have had lunch or, worse, if what they are eating is nasty (such as egg salad), I don’t want to smell that. Any sort of smell has no place at a desk where I am crunching numbers and trying to work. That’s why we have a break room!
Secondly, eat with your mouth closed!!! I have this co-worker who sits across from me. They cannot eat lunch without smacking their lips, gulping their drink, occasionally burping (yeah..you heard right) and laughing when they have a load in their mouth.
Anyone else have this problem (those of you in offices)?
Let’s get a moratorium on the “I’m just too busy to leave my desk for 15 minutes while I eat even though I am getting no work done anyway since I am eating but I still don’t want to walk to the break room” kind of people.
Tags: eating at your desk, Lunch, office, wafting
