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Was I wrong, re bringing work food home

  1. Mamatimes3

    apricot / 264 posts

    I can see both sides and it’s totally dependent upon the number of people in the building.

    Homestly, based on your description I would think it’s nervy and pretty rude for someone to be taking company leftovers home in their Tupperware. That is based on a having a large group of people that would have leftovers available to them. At my current job, I can totally see people freaking out.

    But I’ve also worked in a smaller environment - about 15 people max where that would be totally fine. We would clean up and leave it out for people to pick. And then at the end of the day anyone could take it home because we didn’t want it to go to waste.

  2. irene

    nectarine / 2964 posts

    Hmm. Do you work in a very remote island where there is 100 people total, everyone has to raise their chickens, grow their rice, food source is scarce so they frown upon people taking food without reporting?

    I can't help but laugh reading this! This has to be an episode of The Office, or Curb Your Enthusiasm, it can't be real lol. It is freaking 3pm in the afternoon when everyone has already eaten lunch. There were LUNCH FOOD LEFTOVERS, like chicken and rice. What do you expect people to do, stop working, spend 1/2 hour eating another lunch or super early dinner right there? Say if they announce there is free lunch available at 11:30am, or if there were cake, or a fancy afternoon snack / pastries available at 3pm I can see people frown upon someone taking it home to the families, but lunch food at 3pm?! I do not understand the mentality. If they don't like people touching the leftovers, then don't announce it and let it rot lol

    But then I don't know the work culture at your work place, which makes me very curious.

  3. RonjaL7

    apricot / 424 posts

    @irene: I have only been here about a year and a half... it is a smallish but growing company. We currently have 200 people and just last week bought another small company in the midwest. We are a contract pharmaceutical manufacturing company. I am an Engineer and work in one of our 4 local buildings with about 50 people all doing desk type jobs.

    I guess this is one of my first interactions with the culture, because up until about 6 months ago my group was located in one of our buildings with only 15 or so total people in it and we were all pretty close/lax about things.

  4. Silva

    cantaloupe / 6017 posts

    I've always worked in small non profits and so this entire thing is completely foreign to me, and mildly hilarious, like an episode of The Office. Whenever there was leftover food I feel like people were constantly shoving it at me telling me to take it home! Or someone would just ask and we'd all say "cool, whatever, take this too."
    Sorry there was conflict, that sucks and would make me feel super uncomfortable.

  5. irene

    nectarine / 2964 posts

    @RonjaL7: That is still insane. If it were a small 10 person company, OK everything is nickel and dime and I can see that happening if you get a stingy boss. But for a 200 people firm, they ordered this using the company credit card and it is expensed. Again, it is lunch food LEFTOVERS at 3pm when people can not eat lunch food on the spot. I don't know.

    Something they should be putting it in employee handbook: Thou shalt not remove any food items from the building.

  6. PurplePumps

    pomegranate / 3809 posts

    Wth. That's nuts!! Leftovers are first come first serve. I'm willing to very there are people the who could and would eat more than that, so what does it matter if you take a helping home. Its not like you picked up the whole platter to feed your neighborhood. I think as long as the helping is reasonable, then its yours to do with as you please. I grab food all the time from left over meetings. Sometimes i save it for later that day, or the next day for lunch at work, or take it home. And sometimes i go back to check an hour later to give others a go at it, but if there's still food, I'll even go for a second helping... oh the horror...

  7. RonjaL7

    apricot / 424 posts

    @irene: hahaha

  8. BadgerMom

    persimmon / 1385 posts

    @RonjaL7: Out of total curiosity, how does your office divide Men/Women wise?

    I've been working in an office with mostly men for a long time, but with mostly women in my previous job. I can totally see this happening at my previous workplace, but I can't imagine the men in my current office even noticing, much less caring about "fairness" or what you do with leftover food.

    As long as you took a reasonable sized (single adult) helping, I don't think you did anything wrong...

  9. gingerbebe

    cantaloupe / 6131 posts

    That's completely petty and BS and if my boss hadn't personally said something about there being complaints, I probably would have started sh*t with the receptionist.

    Since your boss DID say something, I would just personally stop taking food ever again. I think since your company is merging with other groups and offices, there's just a higher level of turf war going on with certain groups feeling like other groups get better treatment or whatever. I work in a government agency that is split into legal division, administrative division, and IT division and its always this high-level stress on management's part to make everyone and every division feel equally important because the perception is that the legal staff gets all the perks. So they do all sorts of employee recognition and awards and stuff like that (which frankly most of us in legal don't care about that much), but is really important to the other divisions, etc.

  10. RonjaL7

    apricot / 424 posts

    @BadgerMom: I would say the office is pretty 50/50 men vs. women. If anything perhaps more women.

  11. babypugs

    persimmon / 1101 posts

    If the food supply was pretty limited and appetizing, I'd think it was a little weird if someone was bringing home a portion that likely would be otherwise consumed on-site. I'd never say anything, though. If there was plenty, it wouldn't even warrant a second thought. Either way, it's pretty lame and petty that this became an issue. What a ridiculous thing for people to start drama over! Sorry you had to deal with that.

  12. RonjaL7

    apricot / 424 posts

    There was a bunch of it left in the fridge today that got thrown out. There was definitely plenty hahaha.

  13. gotkimchi

    nectarine / 2400 posts

    @RonjaL7: I would totally point this out if an office wide email

  14. LemonJack

    persimmon / 1130 posts

    That seems so petty. I would be so uncomfortable in a setting where people were that focused on such trivial things.

  15. Ms. RV

    pear / 1930 posts

    At 3:00, leftovers are fair game to do whatever you want. If there are leftovers around lunchtime (say, from a breakfast meeting) then those should be reserved for employees.

  16. ShootingStar

    coconut / 8472 posts

    This is so bizarre to me. At my company food is regularly brought in for various lunch meetings. Once everyone at the meeting is done with it they put it in one of the kitchens. And no one would care what you did with it. I mean, I guess if it’s the really good dessert stuff and you take the entire tray for yourself you might get some side eye. But lunch leftovers aren’t intended as a company snack that all employees should divide evenly. They were intended to feed who was in the meeting and after that it’s fair game.

  17. MissKriss19

    olive / 55 posts

    If I had food leftover I would definitely be glad that someone could take it home for their family. I hate wasting food!! So if it made someone’s life easier so they didn’t have to cook that night that would be great!!

  18. travellingbee

    hostess / papaya / 10219 posts

    This is so silly. I see absolutely no issue with bringing home a few chicken strips. And if you hadn't said anything, they wouldn't have known. And the fact that they threw away left overs the next day is infuriating. Your office sucks.

  19. summerfruit

    olive / 71 posts

    It's weird they would make such a big deal about it. At my work, after a meeting, everyone swarms to get the remaining food. It would be thrown out otherwise anyway.

  20. Ms.Mermaid

    kiwi / 745 posts

    If I’m taking something home it’s because I’m encouraged to do so or there is way too much leftover, but at my offices we have one fridge where the leftovers go and everyone just snacks on them for a week. We do huge Office potlucks though. Sometimes if you brought a thing and there are leftovers you take it home.

    BUT I would expect a 3pm announcement of leftover food to imply that you could come take it home if it’s chicken and rice.

    Nonetheless, I would stop doing it for now. It’s clearly an issue.

  21. FaithFertility

    eggplant / 11861 posts

    This is so crazy to me! If it was a call for left overs WHO cares?!

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