To think people should have breakfast BEFORE work?

[candybeek]

If you work a normal daily shift like 9-5 office hours, then I feel it's really odd people come in to work and immediately start pouring milk on their cornflakes or dashing to the canteen for a greasy fry up.
I'm in the minority at my work place that have breakfast at home before work.
I understand it if you work shifts etc but 9-5??

I find it really odd, what's next - people using the kitchen to cook their tea before they leave for work?

It's even worse as they bring their smelly breakfasts back to their desk so I have to inhale it all.

Am I on my own in this thought?

I'm with you OP but on MN - and possibly elsewhere- we may well be in the minority.

There may be no customer to annoy as there would be in face-to-face jobs but I personally find it fucking annoying having to put up with the crunching of cereals and the noise of clanking spoons in bowls all around me or the nauseating greasy food smells.

I get that some people can't stomach food first thing but in our offices we have kitchen/seating areas at the end of each floor plus a canteen so I've never understood why they can't get in 10 minutes earlier and make as much fucking noise and smell as they want in there.

So you couldn't drink ah your desk either?

I'm a contractor. I've worked in hundreds of different offices.

I wouldn't want to work in an office where things were so flaming uptight you weren't able to eat a bowl of cereal at your desk for crying out loud.

But then I work in an office where we are all adults and can be relied upon to be considerate towards one another and speak up if there is an issue. Shock horror, we get to choose our own start and finish times too - no one gives a flying monkey as long as we produce the work.

I have a few colleagues that do this, some with kids, some without. The one thing that have in common is they get up later and enjoy some extra time in bed, then effectively run out of time to eat their breakfast. I have children. I have a commute. I get up earlier and eat. This seems to be a fairly new thing, roll back 15 years and it would have been unheard of to eat your breakfast at your desk.

I think if the OP was "AIBU to think that eating kippers at your desk is rank" she would have roundly been told YANBU

But she didn't. And mostly everyone's experience is porridge and toast. Or cold food.

I personally hate porridge but the smell of it laden with sugar is delicious so I'm all for that smell!

Me neither koko. I am at people complaining at the sound of cereal crunching. You really need to stop listening so hard.

Alright, koko - we understand you have an enviable and fantastically flexible job. Not all of us are quite so fortunate. Now crack on and get some work done!

Brilliant thread! Almost as good as the eating on a train one, or the reclining seats on airplanes ones. YABU.

I'm on mat leave :)

I know not everyone is so lucky but I just can't see why people get so het up about it if you work in a non client facing office role.

You really need to stop listening so hard.

I'm not - trust me I don't want to hear it but I defy anyone to NOT hear it in a half empty quiet office at 8.30am.

But I understand that it doesn't bother some people whether they hear it or not and I don't make a fuss.

I also agree with a PP that 15 years ago nobody did this.

You only have to look at the passively aggressive co workers thread to see why!

I don't care about people eating food at their desks, unless we're talking re-heated fish. Yuck. I worked in an office of about 6 people, it was usually v quiet first thing in the morning but even so I wouldn't notice anyone eating a roll or porridge etc. Loud cereal eaters though, I did notice them.

But seriously where are these offices where it's not acceptable to eat at your desk?

I'm a PA. I've had seven full time office jobs and about a million temp roles and I've never come across somewhere it isn't ok.

koko Fair enough, and congratulations! I've only worked in customer facing roles - usually hotels. It's pretty infuriating that, as a receptionist, you are expected to go without food (unless you're an early eater - I am not) because a guest may appear at the desk/telephone might ring, while knowing that kitchen/waiting/room staff are all tucking into free cooked breakfasts! I'm probably just jealous

Certain food smells turn my stomach, others don't. I hate the smell of fry ups, coffee or burnt toast. Its impossible to be considerate to everyone so eat in the canteen or outside of the work environment and stop pissing people off!

Most people in our office, including directors eat at work, that is why they have provided a canteen that does breakfast.

We eat anytime we like between 8 and 10.30 for breakfast despite not having a contracted 'breakfast break' some people sit in the canteen to eat, most of us bring it back to our desks and eat whilst working. This is why it is such a good company to work for, if the work is being done and people don't take the piss they are flexible and don't worry about people spending ten mins eating a sandwich. in return staff work hard and don't mind staying late when needed or going the extra mile to get the job done.

I get the impression from this thread that people think it's massively progressive of workplaces to encourage eating breakfast at your desk. As someone mentioned before this would have been unheard of fifteen years ago. I just wonder if it is progress though. Or is it that 15 years ago it was less common to do a 2 hour commute and work from 8 till god knows what time. Not sure being so time poor that we have to eat breakfast at work is a good thing.

This thread is reminding me why I hated being employed.

Stupid pointless inflexible rules combined with over officious busybodies policing each other.

I had more autonomy over my own working timetable doing my GCSEs.

I'm self employed now and my productivity has rocketed because i'm not frozen with anxiety all the time, and I still get downtime in the day. Win win.

birds - Not sure being so time poor that we have to eat breakfast at work is a good thing.
^^ this

I have porridge at my desk. On the days I go to the office I get up at 5.15 am and leave the house to walk 40 minutes to the station at 6.30. My round trip door to door takes 5 hours on occasion. I can't face eating at that time so I nuke some porridge at ten to nine, make a brew and turn my Mac. Sorry it offends you. I get more pissed off with the constant latecomers who pitch up at ten past nine when they live a twenty minute walk away to be honest.

Maybe they did have breakfast at home. They are having a second one at work. They will also eat an oh-so-busy dinner on the train and a second one at home. Secret eaters hiding in plain sight.

I think it's none of op's business.
I don't fancy breakfast, sometimes when I get up. By the time I've dropped the children at school and got to work I fancy a bowl of cereal.

many people at my work have cereal, toast, some eat mid-morning, lunch whenever they want.

We run 24 hours a day, so we have nightshifts, we have people eating at all different times of day.

My boss doesn't mind when people eat. it's his business, he owns it, so his rules and I don't believe it's got anything to do with the OP.

I'm not time poor - work 8-4 and still have breakfast at my desk because I don't fancy food at 6.30 when I get up.

Shitloads of things wind me up, from loud breathers to squeaky shoes but it's not my job to police others.

guiltily reads thread whilst eating a bowl of minestrone at desk