Office ‘shared’ food. Would you say anything?

[KittyVonCatsworth]

We’re a really small team, 10 of us in the office. There’s a table where we all often bring treats in biscuits, fruit, cheese etc for us to help ourselves. However, there’s always the same guy that just trounces the food! He does occasionally bring in a packet of biscuits but e.g I bought in a packet of ginger cookies, teacakes and some chocolate bars. About 30 snacks/treats in total which could’ve easily lasted 2/3 days but he just demolished them! The same with the fruit today; instead of one satsuma he’s had 5! As well as grapes and bananas and 3 mince pies. All before lunchtime.

I know it seems a bit of a non issue but I just find it greedy and it really puts me off bringing in treats for the rest of the team. I’m normally very abrupt and direct but I don’t want to embarrass him or the rest of the team or come across as mean. It’s been mentioned by others in the team too.

Would you say anything and if so, how would you say ‘stop being a woofer’ in a nice way!

We had a guy like this at my old job. We used to put a couple of quid in on birthdays/special occasions and buy those big Costco pizzas and loads of treats. He'd always "left his wallet at home" yet managed to eat a whole pizza and half of the snacks.

In the end, we just told him "no contribution, no pizza".

I think I would get rid of the snack table and as pp have suggested offer stuff around but put away the remainder in a desk drawer or whatever.

I'd portion it all out at the start of the day and put a plate at each place. I assume everyone except Mr Greedy would know why you were doing it, so it wouldn't seem that weird. When Mr G questions it, say that someone always seems to take more than their fair share as others keep missing out, so this seemed the best thing to do.

We used to have someone like this in our office. If there was food left out she would eat it. She was shameless about going round the office and asking other teams if she could have their snacks too. It wasn't because she had no money or an eating disorder she fully admitted she ate it because she didn't have to pay for it. She would take things home too.
When it got to the point she was taking things without asking our manager finally told her she had to stop but by this point we had stopped bringing in treats when we knew she would be in.
We had all tried to talk to her about it but it was pure selfishness on her part - she liked getting something for nothing no matter the cost to others.
I would say the first stage is to have a quiet word and point out the effect but sadly this may not work.

If there are 10 of you, then 90% are able to regulate themselves, not 99%. (I'm such a nit-picker. )

To be fair to him, I'm quite bad at regulating myself when food is on display like that, so it takes more willpower for some than for most. I won't eat any at all because if I get the taste and I can still see it I will want more, it calls out my name like a siren song. Which would probably cause almost as much offence if people are bringing in lovingly home-made goods and I won't even look at them.

We have a colleague who brought in cakes for his birthday, then packed up what was left over and took it home :-) hahaha.

have you thought about doing a kitty? Say, all put 1 quid a week in, and just buy stuff once a week. he'll soon get bored of the standards custard creams and fig rolls :-). Or don't put all the grub out in one go, hold some back, if it's not on offer constantly, he may not be tempted to eat all the time.

This has made me paranoid. I’ll often go and look in the biscuit tin and not have anything because all the biscuits are mixed up and this displeases me (actually, I’ve looked loads but I don’t believe I’ve ever actually taken a biscuit from the tin) Wouldn’t be a problem, but I’ll have had a treat from a little assortment next to the biscuit tin.
Nothing useful to add, except this thread makes me really like my team for sharing and for putting up with my biscuit weirdness.

For those saying the CF doesn't share/contribute, the OP says he does. He takes his turn bringing in the weekly cheese and biscuits and he brings packets of biscuits for the snack table. It's not his fault if others decide to bring in 30 chocolate bars or enough to last the week.

Why on earth is there a 'snack table'? One woman used to have a packet of biscuits in her drawer which came out once a blue moon, but I would never need to have 'snacks' throughout the day! It's really not healthy.

Just stop doing it?

Treat table is definitely getting knocked on the head. Woman who sits in eye view to him says he’s a bogey hunter and gobbler too. I don’t even want to share cheese with him now.

Definately say something, why don't people speak up. Hate these awkward atmospheres.

I used to work with a right CF like this who was constantly, and I mean constantly, eating. I’m sure she must have had bulimia or just didn’t eat outside of work. If you’d bring in 12 cupcakes, with one each for the team, she’d eat 3 or 4 so others would miss out. She’d also stash stuff in her handbag for later. I once caught her emptying half a tin of quality street in there when people had gone home for the day. If there were no snacks, she’d eat one of the 6/7 bananas she’d bring in every day. Noisily.

In the end, our lovely but very weak manager banned eating at our desks, so she basically ruined it for everyone.

Also we have people how go the other extreme too. Like taking cupcake cutting half out and leaving the rest. JUST FUCKING EAT IT!!!

I brought back chocolates from holiday once and took them into work for everyone. One of our volunteers took a handful for his son ‘because we can’t afford sweets normally’. This was the same volunteer who asked if a colleague was my daughter, she was 6 years younger than me. He didn’t last long.

@TimeWoundsAllHeals what a vile comment. Type 2 diabetes isn’t caused by eating too much or eating junk food - insulin resistance is much more complicated than that and many slim people develop type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is the leading cause of amputations and blindness but it’s hardly something to joke about. Maybe you’ll educate yourself if/when you develop a form of diabetes.

@TimeWoundsAllHeals what a vile comment. Type 2 diabetes isn’t caused by eating too much or eating junk food - insulin resistance is much more complicated than that and many slim people develop type 2 diabetes.

I fully accept there may be other causes, but at least one of the causes is getting so fat that your cells cannot accept more energy (aka glucose) because they are already saturated with the stuff.

Considering my mum, my dad, my now deceased gran and my brother (since he was 17!) all have type 2 diabetes and I myself am severely obese it's highly likely I will develop it at some point and it won't change my mind if I did.

How do people manage to eat all these treats at work and not get really fat?

I work in an office and have horrible battles with myself every time people bring in cakes and treats. Sometimes I manage to resist and sometimes I don't. I'm probably seen as a stinge because I don't bring in any treats - mainly because I don't want to have them sitting in front of me all day, tempting me to eat calories I don't need.

Ah, sounds like it’s resolved then.

Lacing with laxatives was the solution one place I worked.

I would have made a sign which indicated greediness and gluttony would not be tolerated.

I think your manager needs to have a word.Thats what they are there for.

God that’s so depressing, I’m sick of being expected to sort out petty fucking squabbles between grown adults.

If it runs in your family then you should know better about the causes of insulin resistance and types of diabetes. You clearly need to update your knowledge about what causes insulin resistance (clue - fat accumulation and distribution is a factor in only 40% of people with type 2 diabetes). Diabetes (all forms) is a disability and protected characteristic. Your unfunny drivel is unacceptable.

only 40%?? That’s a huge proportion.

Source - I’m a type 1 diabetic with kidney failure. I’ve never been overweight, on target blood glucose for 30+ years, no alcohol, no smoking, a very healthy lifestyle and I still developed kidney disease. I get really fed up with the ignorance spouted about the causes of diabetes, regularly asked if I ‘ate too much sugar’ etc etc. Making jokes about diabetes generally really pisses me off.

I didn’t bring up type 1 diabetes at all.