Food thief in the office
- Thread starter bleeaptn
- Start date
I used to work in a place where the same problem kept happening. It got to the point where management had to post a notice saying stealing other people's food counted as stealing, which was not permitted, which would result in termination if it kept happening.
It didn't happen after that.
It didn't happen after that.
At Victoria's Secret, the general rule was, if it was labelled and in the fridge, we left it alone. If it was on the counter, it was considered Open Season.
I've had people steal my sodas (labeled with my name) and my salad! It really ticks you off when you are all ready to go get your lunch and eat, and something is missing! Evidently, this happens in a lot of offices.
We also had a very threatening sign-plus, what about a "fridge cam" or at least the appearance of one? If someone disregards that, they have a problem in more areas than just food theft.
That the person is also eating food from the garbage suggests that something more than "normal" office thoughtlessness is going on.
In what capacity is the person employed? Do you have a ball park idea of what he earns? For example, if he is a low level employee who receives only a token hourly wage, the source of his behavior could be economic.
Or does he receive a decent wage, but have some unusually severe financial problems?
Or it could be something related to an emotional illness.
None of this may be information that you could readily obtain, much less figure out how to address it, and different companies are going to have different policies about all of that, so unless you are the owner of the business, "what to do about it" is not going to be your call, anyway.
About the only thing that you can do is make the management aware that the situation exists, and that it is impacting the workplace environment.
Whatever is going on, it does not sound like the kind of thing where any of the usual tricks and strategies for dealing with that "normal" office thoughtlessness would be either appropriate, effective, or something that you would feel good about participating in.
Just bat the ball into the boss's court.
In the meantime, just to be on the safe side, maybe you and the other employees can take turns bringing in something like bagels or cheese and crackers that are left out in the break room for everybody to enjoy.
In what capacity is the person employed? Do you have a ball park idea of what he earns? For example, if he is a low level employee who receives only a token hourly wage, the source of his behavior could be economic.
Or does he receive a decent wage, but have some unusually severe financial problems?
Or it could be something related to an emotional illness.
None of this may be information that you could readily obtain, much less figure out how to address it, and different companies are going to have different policies about all of that, so unless you are the owner of the business, "what to do about it" is not going to be your call, anyway.
About the only thing that you can do is make the management aware that the situation exists, and that it is impacting the workplace environment.
Whatever is going on, it does not sound like the kind of thing where any of the usual tricks and strategies for dealing with that "normal" office thoughtlessness would be either appropriate, effective, or something that you would feel good about participating in.
Just bat the ball into the boss's court.
In the meantime, just to be on the safe side, maybe you and the other employees can take turns bringing in something like bagels or cheese and crackers that are left out in the break room for everybody to enjoy.
! THAT would show him! Too funny!Anyway, yeah. That's disgusing. I think your co-worker has a little bit of a mental problem. Very strange behavior.
When I worked in an office, I used to lock my food up in my desk. I would bring a small cooler if necessary and literally lock it up. We had a shared fridge too but I really didn't want my food co-mingling with everyone elses. Half the ladies I worked with didn't even wash their hands after using the bathroom so I KNEW I didn't want them touching my food! Even if it was to move it out of the way to get to their food. YUK!
I worked with a lady who would eat off the floor. I dropped M&Ms on the floor by accident once and before I could pick them up to throw them out, she jumped on the floor, scooped them up and ate them
! I called my Dad on the phone to tell him what she did. He said to throw some more down there for her!
I think every office has one or more...when I worked in an office it happened all the time.
I know it happens in my husband's company and friends too.
I know it happens in my husband's company and friends too.
I remembered my bf tellling me what he threw away half eaten can of tuna into the bin. As he walked past the bin after getting a drink, he noticed that the can of tuna was was emptied. This was at work and he called me straight after and i couldn't stop laughing.
Honestly I think it creates a hostile work environment and that person could be terminated for their actions (stealing food).
Remember the episode of Seinfeld, where George eats an eclair out of the trash? (He said it was on the top half, and didn't cross into the 'bottom half' of the trash so it wasn't as bad.)
Way to justify digging outta the bin. Digusting!