Colleague constantly eating all the time

[shewhoisnotme]

We share a desk.

She comes in at 9. Usually a McDonald's breakfast bun of some kind

Snacks on cake, sausage rolls, meats 🍰

Lunch is chicken and chips, McDonald's, KFC. Loads of crisps for a snack after at her desk

AIBU to be annoyed? She is constantly eating! The drums drive me up the wall. They edge onto my side

No, it's gross because it's a constant stream of food and it's often greasy and smelly!

Had a pair of colleagues like this. Always asked me to do a run to the shops for afternoon snacks / buckets of Starbucks, when I was out running errands.
They are constantly & had such detailed conversations about telly, that I actually thought they were talking about people they knew.
They used to hover over my desk & ask what I was having for lunch. I liked salad, sushi, smoothies. They’d be commenting “Oooh, you’re sooo healthy!”. Seriously...

If the company that she works for is OK with it, then it's fine for her to eat at her desk during the working day.

I sympathise, that would drive me absolutely insane.

She may have cystic fibrosis. You need to eat fatty foods if you have CF

Do you really not think that to eat these foods in these quantities at work is unprofessional, though? I do.

OP I would find that grim!!

Let's say she was constantly eating tuna salads and getting some balsamic vinaigrette on her hands and all over the phone.....that's grim too.

The constant smelly food is off-putting, it doesn't matter I'd that food is classes as healthy or if it's ultra processed.

The constant smearing of food on the telephone that you have to use for work is gross, it doesn't matter if that's grease from a McDonalds or avocado stains.

Crumbs and food bits dropped all over the desk it doesn't matter if it's bits of batter or bits of ryvita.

My point is the habits being discussed are not pleasant in a shared work space, it doesn't matter that those habits stem from processed takeaway foods, it would be equally grim if she was constantly chowing down on whole foods!!

I used to work with a guy who constantly ate unsalted nuts and downed milk....it stank and the constant grazing noise was unbearable!!

I would be concerned about her health, did you hear about the young boy who lost his sight because all he ate were chips and crisps and occasionally sausages, no fruit or veg in his diet. Your colleague sounds like a compulsive eater.

Omfg op. You are NOT being unreasonable. I would find this (mess, grease, crumbs, wrappings, smell) all over shared equipment all day long - space & equipment required to do my job - No.

YaNbu.

Greedy mare!

HA!!

She may also have autism and/or dementia.

That sounds gross.

I would get a spray, maybe something like Febreeze which always makes me want to gag. That should stop her eating.

I'm amazed that anyone on reception is allowed to eat/drink at the desk.

That’s disgusting, does she actually do any work if she eats constantly?

She's sitting in the reception area and eating stuff like that? How on earth does she get away with that?

I really think you have a case for asking for separate phones.

Why wouldn't you speak to your line manager first? Confused.

Because the woman in question is sitting right next to her to speak to.

How is that confusing?

We're not at school now where we go running to the teacher instead of speaking to people like adults.

That would drive me insane! Thank goodness for WFH!

On reception 🤢 and a shared phone 🤢 surely management understands you are entitled to a clean sanitary workspace.

I used to visit an office with a lot of developers/IT types whose workspaces were atrocious. It was like casting central for movie-typical IT slobs. Cereal bowls and pizza crusts. And pot noodles. Grim.

I think it sounds gross.... I am old enough to remember when I first started working in an office we had designated breaks, we left our desks and went to the canteen for morning coffee, lunch and afternoon tea ... all very civilised and meant you got a proper break away from your desk. It would be unheard of to sit at your desk and eat and drink. I realise that sounds hopelessly out of date now though.

Can you ask for a different place to work?

Grim. But just say something? Also so confused at a business allowing someone working reception to have the desk littered with KFC and McDonald’s. Bizarre.

Gross!
I would not work in this environment.
And a Greedy receptionist stuffing her face with junk food all day.

How utterly disgusting.

This completely. So very grim.

She may also be a greedy pig.

Any more for any more?

But I am amazed she is allowed to behave like that on reception (or is it phone rather than face to face?)

Anyway I guess being on reception means she can’t step away from her desk, so if I were you I would need to take some new medication that has nausea as a side effect, that you find is brought on a lot by food smells .

Politely explain this to her, buy a sealed bin and a pack of wet wipes for you both and ask her to eat as quickly as possible and clean up after yourself. This means you can wet wipe away.

You could also do some silent retching and running to the loo in quiet moments. The threat of vomit should clip her (KFC) wings.