How about the coworkers that "cooK"

[Talking Hands]

I was guilty one time this year. My husband sent me with spaghetti and had put Asiago cheese on it. I heated it up in the microwave in the classroom and oh boy did it stink. We had to open the windows to air out the room.

 

[OK!]

In my experience nothing compares to some of the Asian fish dishes when they are reheated in microwave. It's like something died. Takes over the whole room and takes forever to go away.

Ugh, yes! A woman at my former job used to eat that at least 2-3 times a week, covered in hot sauce. It smelled up one entire end of the store and was completely nauseating. I hated to bring anything that had to be refrigerated for fear she'd have some of her leftovers in there; that smell permeates anything within a 10-foot radius.

 

[Honu]

People being fussy over smells aside. A business that is not in the business of selling/making food, really shouldn't smell of food when you enter it.

Bringing food that is going to reek through the office when heated isn't a good thing, professionally. If you think people don't lose opportunities over something this trivial, you'd be wrong.

 

[DWDreams]

To those that feel ***plaining over smells is petty, why? The woman in our office continued to smell up the place even knowing that it made a pregnant coworker throw up on occasion. It's ***mon courtesy. In our office, noone asks that it not be cooked, but at least contain it in the kitchen by closing the door and stop bringing the rancid smelling soups and what not out to the desk area for everyone to "enjoy." Fish just really smells awful in the microwave regardless of what type of dish it is!

 

[OK!]

We had a woman that lived above us in a townhome several years ago that cooked a LOT of curry dishes-YUCK. Even worse, she seemed to like to cook at 3AM so we would frequently get woken up at night to that smell.

There are only two of us in our office and no microwave--it's great!

Oof, that reminds me--the people who lived in the apartment above me about 5 years ago used (I'm guessing) a Fry Daddy nearly every night. That's fine, to each his own, but at least change the grease every now and again in the blasted thing! My apartment reeked every night of rancid grease (not to mention whatever they were cooking in said grease)...it was so pungent that opening the windows and running the exhaust fan nonstop had no effect. I can't even tell you how many bottles of Lysol, Febreeze, etc., I burned through trying to counteract it. GROSS.

 

[rigs32]

To those that feel ***plaining over smells is petty, why? The woman in our office continued to smell up the place even knowing that it made a pregnant coworker throw up on occasion. It's ***mon courtesy. In our office, noone asks that it not be cooked, but at least contain it in the kitchen by closing the door and stop bringing the rancid smelling soups and what not out to the desk area for everyone to "enjoy." Fish just really smells awful in the microwave regardless of what type of dish it is!

Because others were saying that people shouldn't even keep those things in the lunch area. Life threatening allergies aside, my job shouldn't be allowed to tell me what I can eat for lunch in the lunch area.

 

[C.Ann]

Life threatening allergies aside, my job shouldn't be allowed to tell me what I can eat for lunch in the lunch area.

--------------------

This is true - but they can most certainly decide if employees are allowed to cook or microwave in the building..

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I have to say that I would rather deal with someone's smelly lunch than someone's smelly body. I can leave the kitchen, I can't leave the work area. I swear some people only shower with the change of the seasons.

 

[rigs32]

--------------------

This is true - but they can most certainly decide if employees are allowed to cook or microwave in the building..

Very true. But I would think twice before accepting a job someplace that did not allow use of a microwave for lunch reheating. That level of control over employees says a lot to me about their attitude toward employees.

 

[englishteacha]

Our teacher's room doesn't have a working window. Some of the staff cook food that smells horrid and the room is so small the smell doesn't leave. One day I had to pull my hair back because the smell clung to it. Ick.

As for other odors, I teach in a middle school. There are few things that smell like a middle school!!

 

[Aidensmom]

We have someone who cooks bacon a few times a week in the morning, and while it doesn't bother me, it does make everyone hungry.

We also have fish heated up in the microwave by someone on a regular occurence. It bothers everyone else, it stinks up the entire office. My cubicle is right outside the kitchen and I actually go outside for a walk afterwards because it makes me nauseous.

I don't think anyone should be restricted from heating up their lunch, but I do wish people would use common courtesy and not bring things that cause a smell they wouldn't want in their own home. I don't bring in stuffed cabbage, etc, just for that reason.

 

[Honu]

I don't think anyone should be restricted from heating up their lunch, but I do wish people would use common courtesy and not bring things that cause a smell they wouldn't want in their own home. I don't bring in stuffed cabbage, etc, just for that reason.

I wish that too. We live in a world of stupid rules and laws though because people don't use common sense and courtesy.

 

[themarquis]

I would assume (by reading the posters descriptions of the perpetuators!) that many, if not most, of the people cooking curry/"stinky" fish dishes in the microwave are from places/backgrounds in which curry/"stinky" fish is thought to smell *GOOD*.

Therefore, it is not so much an issue of some people violating "common courtesy", being "rude", "insensitive", etc ... but of people having different ideas of what smells/tastes good/bad. If you come from a background in which you've eaten curry your whole life and you and your family and your friends concur that curry smells, tastes, and looks delicious (which I would tend to agree with!), why would you automatically assume that other people at work would be bothered or disgusted by it? How can there be "common courtesy" when not everyone agrees on what is "courteous"? How can you criticize others of being "rude" when they may have no clue what it is that bothers you?

Now ... if we're talking about a workplace where everyone has sat down together and come to some sort of agreement or compromise about what is "gross" to cook in the microwave ... and then people continually violate this agreement ... well then, criticize and complain away. Or if we're talking about a workplace where everyone comes from an identical cultural background and therefore can be trusted to use "common sense" to decide what others might think smells gross ... yet people continue to cook this stuff anyway ... then fine.... But I suspect that is not the case for most of you all...

 

[thewishfire]

I agree with some of the posters here... people should be able to bring anything they want in for lunch and heat it up. Some people should be a little more understanding with their choices though.

Personally I HATE tuna fish, but lots of people seem to love it. I wouldn't make a big deal if anyone at it around me.. I'd just back up a little.

On that note though, one time in middle school a kid brought in a tuna sandwich and left it in his locker for who knows how long. Somehow it 'exploded' and got into the locker under it. The whole hallway smelled so bad that I think I've been scarred for life. And I think he did this more than once.