Office Party Etiquette

Lifestyle Relationships
1

Something happened lately at work which lead me to post this question:
If you have a potluck lunch at your office where each person brings in something…what is your take on the following:

At the end of lunch some people start packing up a little of each food in containers and taking it home, without asking if the person who brought it wanted to take the leftovers home.

Specific scenario was one of the guys F brought in a big chocolate cake from local bakery, it was a pretty penny too. Anyways when the breakfast party was over people were cleaning up the food area. Person R just decided she will take the cake home. It was 1/2 a cake left. F went to pick up the cake and was told R is taking it home. He didn’t say anything to her, but told me he found it very odd. Is it wrong? Should she have asked or just odd behavior in general to take it home.

It turns out the other guys of the office (happen to be non-desi) are overall annoyed at this behavior of R and company (they happen to be all desi ladies and 2 guys) to always start packingup all the food to take home without asking…

What do you guys think.

PS. I am just upset because F will no longer bring in cakes anymore… :slight_smile:

2

I'd say thats pretty rude, I mean R should have given F the opportunity to maybe be like oh I don't want to take this home if anyone wants it go ahead... but yeh to take 1/2 a cake that someone else bought without asking is pretty inconsiderate.

3

Re: Office Party Etiquette

like you said they are desis. what else can i say, there you have it.
I would think that this is pretty rude. May be like stealing.

4

Re: Office Party Etiquette

1) R should have asked F if F wana take it back home of R can take some

2) F should stop participating in such events if F is so sensitive that these small things bus him/her

5

Re: Office Party Etiquette

Office politics hey!

R shouldn't have taken F's cake home unless he had offered it.

At my office it would have probably been left at the office to eat the next day.

6

Re: Office Party Etiquette

Decent - thats what I told F. That true its odd, but is it that big a deal. Apparently F & our other buddies J & J agree that they won't be participating in such events in the future. The thing is not necessarily about being so sensitive. But this ALWAYS happens...every single event. Poblem is when he doesnt want to participate, people make him feel bad and he ends up having to participate.......

7

Re: Office Party Etiquette

R was in the wrong.....should have asked

people ask before taking food home the first day......... if its left for the next day, then the next day its usually up for anyone to grab

8

Re: Office Party Etiquette

it is indeed rude and borderline greedy to do so.

why not have an announcement beforehand that leftover food is to be saved for the next day (if the majority agrees to do so)

9

Re: Office Party Etiquette

I feel it rude if someone packs things at party and take it their home .. .. .. .. I call 'em .. "bhookay, nadeeday"

10

Eww. That's absolutely rude!

We have potlucks at my workplace all the time and I have never noticed such behavior. Mostly people offer the leftover food to other people or if it doesnt need refrigeration, most people leave the food out, so people just eat it all day.

Sometimes people will make plates for themselves to eat later, but I have never seen someone claim somebody else's dish to themselves.

I can't get over this. Too shocking.

11

Re: Office Party Etiquette

thats rude ,its not her cake how could she do that.

12

Re: Office Party Etiquette

Totally rude of her.
Tell F to next time announce loudly, "if anyone wants an extra piece please take it before I pack MY cake up to take home", problem solved.... thats what most people do in our office at the potlucks, so there's no opportunity for other people to say hey I'm taking this whole thing home :)

13

Re: Office Party Etiquette

F should challenge R to a duel for the cake leftovers at the next potluck :)