Food in the office being eaten by other people

[asblindasabat]

A colleague of mine recently brought in a small packet of bite-size caramel shortbreads and left them sitting there in the office.

We sometimes do bring in snacks and leave them there to share about.

I ate one of the shortbreads but I didn’t finish them so obviously someone else has as there were none left.

She seemed to imply that it was me who finished them and I didn’t and she wasn’t impressed that someone would do such a thing.

AIBU to think that if you don’t want others to eat your biscuits/snacks etc don’t just leave them sitting about in the office for all to have access to?

Unless they are in a communal area then no, you don’t eat them. If the person offered you some then of course have some but if left on their desk etc they aren’t up for grabs

Were they on her desk? If you YABVVVVU if they are just on a filing cabinet somewhere I’d assume fair game

If someone had left a packet of biscuits/cakes/doughnuts/chocolates casually laying around I would also assume they're a donation for sharing.

In my office if something is on someone’s desk then it’s there’s and nobody touches it but if it’s left in a communal part say a spare desk or whatever then anyone can have some.

is it similar where you work?

if someone ate something that was on my desk I’d be annoyed

Depends on where "there" is. On her desk - shouldn't have taken one without being offered. On top of a filing cabinet/in the kitchen- fair game for all.

left them sitting there in the office.

Where in the office? That's pertinent information.

I ate one of the shortbreads but I didn’t finish them so obviously someone else has as there were none left.

She seemed to imply that it was me who finished them and I didn’t and she wasn’t impressed that someone would do such a thing.

The only decent response to this would have been "ooops! I thought they were for sharing, sorry ... but no, I only took one, I didn't scoff the lot."

Did you do that OP, or are you just seething in silence over a non-event?

Sorry, I should have clarified in my OP.

she did leave them on top of a filing cabinet / file shelf , so yes, a communal area.

They weren’t on her desk.

she was off for a few days and has come back to find they were eaten.

She should have took them home with her!

I dunno, I would say the general rule should be don’t eat something that doesn’t belong to you and they you weren’t offered.
On the end of a desk with the wrapper right open is sort of a free for all sign but the item just on the kitchen counter is less so. It’s better to just not eat other people’s good if you aren’t sure.

Yabu.

No not unless they're in the canteen or you've been offered the item otherwise keep your sticky fingers to yourself.

I wouldn't eat anything unless it was offered to me so I think you're being unreasonable.

Did she leave the packet open?

Given that she expected to find them there a few days later, that implies the packet wasnt open.

OPen packet in communal area - fair game
Closed packet - less straightforward

We all leave stuff on top of the filling cabinets to share so yanbu. If it's on your desk, it's yours.

In the office I used to work in, anything left on the cabinets were communal. Packets were always closed to keep them fresh.

Just apologise and say you didn’t realise they weren’t for sharing and that you’ll ask in future. It doesn’t sound like you know her very well of work closely together so there’s clearly some different kind of rule for where communal snacks go in that part of the office.

In our office, if something is left in the communal kitchen or trading area then it’s a free for all. If it’s on a cabinet next to a team bank then it’s for sharing among the people working in that bank of desks, unless you’re offered.

you need an alibi, say you saw the manager in there

YANBU op.
A bit off topic here, but I once took in a home-baked cake for sharing but left a covered slice on a saucer in the fridge, with my friend's name on it ..... it still disappeared and no one ever owned up!!

I mean managers never stop eating biscuits.

Communal area = fair game

Left on top of a filing cabinet is fair game. On the kitchen counter/cupboard/fridge or your own desk is not but that's a very communal area for a private snack

Unless it's the fridge or a kitchen counter. In the actual office space. Free for all.

It seems it depends on the culture in the office.
Wherever I have worked, anything left in a communal area is left for sharing (fridge aside). If you have your own emergency rations / treats then you keep them in your own desk drawer / locker / bag / whatever system you have in your office.

She expected them to be some left after a few days??

Ha ha, at our place, if anything is left on the table, it's like feeding time at the zoo.

Very handy to get rid of kids birthday cakes/left over sweets/random packs of biscuits that aren't to our tastes etc.

I know, I feel like I do need an alibi to prove that I didn’t finish the whole packet!

I explained to her I did eat one but it wasn’t me who ate the rest. I feel like she didn’t believe me though.

But I do think she could have told us not to eat them, or put a note on it to say don’t touch, or even better, took them home with her before her annual leave started!

Just look crossly at her, tut and say "well that explains the mice then"

Leaving food unsealed in the office is a recipe for rodent infestation. I speak with bitter experience...