A few of my coworkers appointed themselves the office snack police.
By @sageok2 · Work
Our company provides free snacks and drinks, which is a nice perk. Now a couple of people have decided it's their job to monitor everyone's consumption, and it's making things incredibly awkward.
The full story
I work in a pretty standard corporate office. One of the few real perks is a kitchen stocked with sodas, coffee, and a variety of snacks like chips, pretzels, and granola bars. It's not a three-course meal, but it's appreciated. Recently, a few colleagues on another team have taken a bizarre personal interest in who is eating what, and how much. It started with passive-aggressive comments like, "Someone's having a party!" if you took a can of soda and a bag of chips at the same time. Then came the 'jokes' in our team chat about the snack stash mysteriously dwindling before noon. This morning, it escalated. They put up a laminated sign next to the snacks with a grid drawn on it, titled "Snack Log." They are literally asking people to write their name and what item they took. This isn't from management; it's from them. The pettiness is astounding. I feel like I'm in middle school again where the teacher is trying to find out who stole the chalk. Part of me wants to complain to HR because it feels like a form of low-grade harassment, but another part of me feels like I'll be laughed out of the room for complaining about the free pretzel police. Am I wrong to think this is a legitimately hostile and bizarre thing to do in a professional environment?
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 30% (68 votes)
- Both Messy — 41% (93 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 30% (68 votes)
Readers say “Both Messy” (41%) — 229 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@shoulda — You're handling this with so much more grace than I would have. That is genuinely bizarre behavior and it creates a horrible atmosphere for everyone.
@actuallynope — Time to get petty. I'd start logging my own desk snacks. "Item: half a bag of stale gummy worms I found in my purse. Time: 2:17pm."
@finnmm — These people have a desperate need for control and the snack kitchen is the only place they can exert it.
@karakindof — I wonder if a few people were taking way too much and ruined it for everyone else, though.
@claireb — Can't wait to see the Q2 snack consumption report.
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