“Devious Lunch Revenge: How I Turned My Office Kitchen into a Culinary Trap!”
Bringing lunch to work is one of those adulting joys — it saves money, promotes healthier eating, and helps you avoid the ominous leftovers lurking in your fridge. Yet, it’s also a battleground, where a seemingly harmless meal can spark a gourmet war! Ever had that sinking feeling when you find an empty space where your carefully packed lunch once sat? You’re not alone! Food theft in the workplace can totally zap our morale and even lead to some hilarious yet petty revenge stories. Take, for instance, the tale of a redditor who decided enough was enough and hatched a plan to teach their lunch thief a lesson. What does the psychological toll of these food heists mean for workplace harmony? Curiously, we reached out to experts Dr. Tessa West and Dr. Peter J. Robertson to get their insights. Stick around to unravel the hilarious and sometimes serious implications of refrigerator larceny. LEARN MORE.
Many people bring lunch to work – it’s cheaper than going out, healthier than munching on what office-adjacent fast food restaurants have to offer, and a good way not to let yesterday’s leftovers go to waste.
But some of the lunch-bearing employees often face an aggravating issue – coworkers stealing their food. This redditor was no exception. After bearing with it for months, though, they had enough and decided to seek petty revenge, which seemed to have made the thief change their ways.
We wanted to learn more about how food thieves can affect the employees in a company, so we got in touch with a professor of psychology at New York University, Dr. Tessa West, and an associate professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, Dr. Peter J. Robertson, who were kind enough to answer a few of Bored Panda’s questions on the topic. Scroll down to find their thoughts in the text below.
It’s safe to assume that many people count the minutes until lunchtime at work
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska / unsplash (not the actual photo)
Unfortunately, some people can’t find their meal come lunch break, because of a food thief in the office
Image credits: GraceBreezy21
Many people have had to deal with a food thief at work
Image credits: milodmitry / freepik (not the actual photo)
Anyone who works in a team of people knows that they can make or break the job itself. Even the most difficult of tasks often don’t seem that daunting with a good backup—the same way little undertakings can become extremely frustrating, working with a bunch of * insert whatever word you prefer here *.
Needless to say, individuals stealing food at work don’t really make a person love their coworkers—or the workplace itself—more. Unfortunately, it’s something many people have to deal with; in some cases, on a daily basis. According to Zippia, nearly half of employed individuals have experienced what it feels like to have their food disappear from the fridge at work. Roughly a third admitted having been in the shoes of the thief themselves.
“Having a reliable lunch situation seems like a small thing, but it’s not. Each day, you go into lunch with uncertainty, not knowing whether your food will be there or not. That on its own is stressful; having locus of control is important—uncertainty-based stress is the worst kind,” said Dr. Tessa West, a professor of psychology at New York University.
“Second off, food stealing violates a norm, and it breeds paranoia and mistrust,” she added. “Who is stealing this food? And importantly, who knows about it and isn’t stopping it? None of this is good for workplace morale. Or your blood sugar levels.”
The expert continued to note that there’s a lot of research showing that when procedural justice rules are violated—meaning that people aren’t all treated fairly, and some people get away with things that others don’t get away with—it creates a lot of cheating and cutting corners. “A blasé attitude about food theft might just be the canary in the coal mine for this workplace; people don’t treat each other with respect, or hold other people accountable for doing so either.”
“[Food theft] raises all sorts of issues regarding trust among co-workers, fairness, and justice in the workplace,” expert says
Image credits: Yan Krukau / pexels (not the actual photo)
An expert in organizational behavior, and an associate professor at the USC Price School of Public Policy, Dr. Peter J. Robertson noted that in such situations, the problem is way bigger than just loss of food. “It raises all sorts of issues regarding trust among co-workers, fairness, and justice in the workplace, and the level of managerial and organizational support,” he told Bored Panda. “If the problem is not resolved, it could easily undermine the employee’s motivation and commitment and possibly even workgroup morale and workplace climate.”
A recent survey carried out by Kickresume found that a life without an aggravating coworker is something few people have experienced. According to the survey, as much as 85% of employed individuals have had an experience with someone annoying at work. Just over six in ten shared having faced annoying behavior directly in the office. Unsurprisingly, nearly as many people believe that annoying coworkers significantly impact their productivity; and it’s safe to assume that they don’t impact it in a positive way.
