To ask if my joke to new work colleague would have offended you?

[Abbeymum]

We are quite a small team and had a new staff member join this week. It’s a very friendly and jokey culture so we are always light heartedly ribbing each other.

Anyway - new colleague was eating a salad with two boiled eggs. We were chatting and she says that’s a usual weekday lunch for her. I replied that I bet she has stocked up on the air freshener for when she’s home.

Blank face…sense of humour failure on her part?

Oh dear -how embarrassing for you 🤦🏻‍♀️. You sound like a David Brent type of person

I would have laughed and found it funny. So I would say she probably doesn't have a good sense of humour, or just a bit tense on her first day.

It’s a shit joke, there’s no such thing as banter in the workplace and they are probably embarrassed for you

I think it’s a good job none of us work with you as no one clearly finds it funny/appropriate. You’ve just embarrassed yourself in front of a new colleague. Like someone else said we aren’t 12 year old boys so not sure where the humour is!

If I was your new colleague I'd have smiled sweetly , tidied my lunch away and closed the conversation with a polite "there we are then' and left you to your little digs.

Or some of us don’t associate eggs with farting.

Eggs don’t have that effect on me, never have and don’t know anyone who does either.

So juvenile. But I bet you still can't see it ..instead you think more than 90% of peope who said you are being unreasonable are boring, no fun, can't take a joke. It's you who needs to grow up. Fine if you're amongst other juvenile peope...but when you get an actual adult respond in an adult way, you can't blame them for your crass humour!

Rudeness on your part.

Crass and uncouth.

Really surprised at the comments, I would have just laughed if off. We say much worse in our team and nobody takes offence.

Just goes to show though some people are very stiff and you have to gauge conversation with new colleagues.

I wouldn’t have been offended and probably would have a comeback for you. Banter isn’t everyone’s cup of tea and you have to read the room. I’ve come to learn who you can and can’t have a joke with now 🤣

The thing about jokes is that you have to build a relationship up with people first to find out who can take one (a joke) and who can’t.

Why would she laugh? You embarrassed her.

You made her the butt of the joke by implying her lunch stank, or her house did because she farts a lot, so she's hardly going to be amused (the fact that the "joke" was painfully unfunny notwithstanding).

Jokes are funnier when you don't pick on people.

I would have found it funny, but maybe you should have got to know your new colleague a bit better first to judge if they like that sort of humour.

I have a very unsophisticated sense of humour and personally think those who don’t laugh at fart and poo jokes are just a bit stuffy. But each to their own I suppose…

You scrutinised and commented on her lunch in front of everyone and followed up by suggesting to everyone about farts that needed air freshener. Yes that is offensive to a new colleague it comes across as you trying to put her down in front of the team.

If I were her, I'd be worried that this was a sign I could expect more of your "banter" in the future which you would brush off as just jokes, watching what I do and pointing it out unfavourably to the rest of the team, and probably following up with asking why I couldn't take a joke. It's as old as time and it's not a great introduction to a new job.

You need to stop the so called jokes. Or at least think twice and think again before you open your mouth.

I wouldn't have been offended, but if someone had said that to me in a new workplace I would have felt immensely awkward. It's just not funny.

I also don't understand why people feel the need to comment on what people are eating? Especially to someone who's new.

Grow up.

I would've probs laughed and said something like "sounds like a him problem".

I'd have done a polite laugh (because I'm a people pleaser) and felt slightly despairing that I'd ended up in a job with people who enjoy Mrs Brown's Boys.

Maybe she really didn't know what you meant, because not everyone reacts to eggs that way?

Keep the fart jokes out of the workplace.

Cringe for you, poor girl her 1st week, and you try being funny and embaress her.
She'll know who to be avoiding going forward.

This is the daft type of comment that would get made in my office. And there’d probably be a daft comment back in retaliation.
Childish, yes, but keeps us amused enough.

Was going to say the same, they smell when you unpeel them don’t they. They are supposed to block you up “egg bound” not the opposite thing you’ve suggested.

But I admire your front in suggesting she’s had a sense of humour failure. It’s in the same vein as men who call women lesbians when they don’t respond to being chatted up.

Thing is your new team member may also hate it.