Eating lunch at your desk
How do you decide whether to eat lunch at your desk? This is how it works at my current place of employment.
(Omnigraffle’s rather nice, by the way. I’m kicking myself for not having tried it out earlier.)
11 Comments so far
Leave a reply
If nothing else, a previous boss of mine often mentioned that an average office keyboard is roughly as hygenic as a toilet seat - and even the busiest person wouldn’t eat off that.
I know that the odds are fairly remote, but it’s a false economy if the ten minutes saved eating at one’s desk turned into two days lost through a stomach bug.
Also, no-one wants to hear a co-worker belch after sinking that diet coke too quickly…
[...] night Kirrily mentioned that she had created a flowchart about eating lunch at your desk so tonight I went off to find it on her Geek Etiquette site. Anyone who works in a shared office [...]
There needs to be a special diamond box for “Is it curry anything?” that comes after “Is it stinky?” because curry anything is ALWAYS STINKY WHETHER YOU THINK IT IS OR NOT, OK?
Chris, surely you must be joking when you say that the average keyboard is roughly as hygienic as a toilet seat. We all know that toilet seats are about 400 times more hygienic than keyboards.
Resting your lunch on a hygienic surface such as a toilet seat or a plate rather than directly on your keyboard also has the advantage that you can type commands to make cool graphs in between mouthfuls of food.
A former manager of mine once posted a “No Fish” sign on the microwave after someone reheated some fish that had a distinct aroma…
Wow, this is definitely another way of looking at the “should I eat at my desk” question. Never really thought about it that way. Food really is a big deal, even at work, who you eat it with, when, and of course, where! Can’t stay away from food, even at your work desk? I’m eating at my desk right now and I’m reading about this really awesome sweepstakes in qourmet magazine where you can instantly win a trip for 2 to a top resort. Check it out at http://condenast.eprize.net/gourmet/index.tbapp?affiliate_id=1v. I’m giving you the inside scoop because I work with gourmet. Good luck!
Chris: I don’t really know anyone who actually eats off their desk. Me, I tend to eat out of the plastic container I brought the food in, using a fork or spoon that is washed between uses. I don’t see how that’s any worse than how I eat at home. (OK, at home I usually use a plate, not a plastic container.)
Andy: good point! I was thinking “curry anything” when I drew that, mostly. I’m lucky at my work in that everyone seems to really agree with my taste in food. If I ever reheat anything like curry, garlicky pesto, etc, I invariably have people going “mmmm, what smells good?” I still don’t eat the stinky stuff at my desk if I can help it, though. Unfortunately at my work “lunchroom” either means “go to another floor” or “eat standing up while perusing the paper in the kitchen” :-/
Skud, you’re totally right. But I guess it’s also a matter of proximity - how often do you clean your kitchen surfaces with disinfectant, and how often does your office desk get the same treatment?
Paul’s link aside, I guess it’s still probably more of an etiquette issue than an actual health risk, but IMO it’s still worth bearing in mind.
One tangent: eating at your desk is the epitome of the reason why your parents were after you to keep your mouth closed when you eat. There is nothing worse than the smack-smack-goo-smack sound of someone’s open lips as they chow down while staring vacantly at their monitor. Oh how I loathe that sound.
Generally speaking, it’s easiest to avoid it by eating somewhat mindfully. Yeah, you’re at your desk and the Internet is RIGHT THERE. Try and actually pay attention to the eating process anyway, if only because it means your colleagues don’t have to do it for you.
Skud, I think you have intelli-comment-spam at #6 (as in, yes it pertains to the entry and was probably not autogenerated, but the intent of the comment posting was to advertise first and converse second).
I was reminded today that cold food does not necessarily mean that it isn’t stinky. The distinctive odour of rice crackers comes to mind.
Further to this, I think the audibleness of the food is also a factor. Consider someone chomping on those rice crackers or slurping up noodles…