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?

This is a good point too. Do we know the colleague's background (doubtful) at this stage? Chrons/IBS etc, maybe she's got good reason to not want jokes made about such body parts/functions.

This is a good point too. Do we know the colleague's background (doubtful) at this stage? Chrons/IBS etc, maybe she's got good reason to not want jokes made about such body parts/functions.

Oh crikey, nobody seems to have a sense of humour anymore. I'm in my 50's and would have laughed but maybe I'm childish.

The thing is, this isn't banter when you barely know someone. You're crossing the line to bullying, particularly as you're focussing on the new colleague not finding your puerile comment hilarious. You've asked would your joke have offended posters here, but you're only interested in validation of how hilarious you are. You're not.

It's amazing how sensitive people are about farts. How many of you fart in front of your husband?
I farted in bed this morning 🤣

I would have found it funny but on reading some other PPs comments, I can certainly see why many would be offended.

It’s not about farts. It’s the fact it’s not a funny joke.

I agree with most, it’s just not funny.

Yes, you are.
I have a sense of humour. I laugh a lot, but only at things that are funny.

If you knew the posters personally would you still think the same? I don't know why they would be offended. They haven't given any reasons.

I fart in the office when I need to. If a colleague farts and is embarrassed I don't react it say anything to spare them blushes.

Similar (have been) here. But I would not equate one badly timed comment about eggy lunches in any way equates to potential bullying…..especially if you already know your team members well enough.
I'm also acutely aware how having someone completely devoid of any sense of humour, or intelligence to come back with their own if they take offence (rather than just stare like a rabbit in the headlights) and how that person can just suck the life out of the rest of the team.

Na I think it’s was a crap joke.
And a new colleague needs to settle and you need to get to know them

(I also hate people commenting on my food, they’re not eating it 😆)

What's not funny about it? I wonder if her husband or partner says anything about her eggy farts💨 when she gets home.

Missing the point entirely...

"What's that smell. You cooking eggs love?"

Work colleague doesn’t share a home, bed and bathroom with her and share a familiarity like her husband, ridiculous comparison.

"we are always light heartedly ribbing each other"

That's a recipe for disaster.

You were rude.

That's why the op asked whether she had air freshener at home 🤭

I’d be bored senseless if those kinds of comments were made on a daily basis. It’s exhausting having to feign amusement at that kind of lowest common denominator crap.

Doesn’t sound like a very professional workplace.

Which is rude as fuck. At least her colleagues know what she’s like now.

I didn't think of farts, I thought that boiled eggs just have a smell during boiling, when you open a sandwich or a box, they smell. I didn't think of fart because well, they don't give me any so I would have laughed and assumed you meant that it's a smelly food and that my house will smell of eggs because I cook them everyday. I loathe egg sandwich smell on trains and at work canteens.

Sorry I don’t really know. I came on here to say that I would find it funny, read some of the comments and then saw why others would find it offensive. Why do you ask?

Yes, you do sound like a childish poopy bum to me.

I'm in my 60s and wouldn't have laughed so 🤷‍♀️

I'd have smiled awkwardly out of socially conditioned politeness and thought the OP a dullard.