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?

Sounds like the sort of comment you might make to the colleagues you know well ( from what you said about your workplace), but far too over- familiar for someone you don't.

Not everyone finds that sort of 'humour' funny, me for one. I'd hate to work somewhere with constant 'ribbing'

Does new colleague know that she'll be expected to tolerate/join in this type of communication?

Were you trying to put her off her lunch?

Offended no, i dont have the mn curse of needing to be offended every time i leave the house but I just dont think it was funny and it would have taken me a while to work it out as I never thought eggs did that

Puerile OP. I'm cringing with second hand embarrassment

Harsh replies here! The OP isn’t trying to be a stand up comedian - just a bit of office banter.

I wouldn’t be offended. Nor would I be embarrassed for you. Nor would I be handing you the comedy awards. I would’ve chuckled and felt grateful that you felt you could joke with me - that would help put me at ease as a new colleague.

Exactly this. I just don’t really make the connection. A big pot of cabbage and beans, maybe. But not a couple of eggs. I’ve heard people saying that sort of thing jokingly but I don’t think it has that effect at all, so would likely be blank faced too.

Childish, not funny and you are trying to make a new staff member uncomfortable regarding her choice of food.

I’d be massively unimpressed if someone behaved like this in my office. Some of the younger guys might have the childish humour, but making a new staff member self conscious is mean and unnecessary.

Why wouldn’t you wait to find out what your new colleague finds amusing before ribbing her? It’s pretty presumptuous to inflict your humour on someone you don’t know. It’s got ‘cheer up, it may never happen’ vibes.

I took it to mean that the eggs themselves are smelly - hence I'd have been embarrassed that a colleague was highlighting to everyone how bad my lunch smelled.

It wasn’t a funny joke, it was a bit try hard. You need to get to know people before starting shit jokes. Some people don’t enjoy fart jokes ever, learn your audience! YABU

This!

I would be very wary of a new colleague who felt the need to say something that really isn't a joke but actually could be interpreted as a small unnecessary dig disguised as 'humour.'

I bet your new colleague is regretting that she does already.

Her blank face probably reflected what she was thinking - can an adult really be so immature and have the toilet humour of an eight year old?

You don’t have to be mad to work here, but it helps.

Do you have one of those signs in your office?

Know your audience before your attempts at humour. Rude and childish to speak like that to someone who is a relative stranger

I wouldn't be offended, but it wouldn't make me laugh or smile as it wasn't at all funny. More of an odd comment than a joke really.

I literally thought she meant to mask the smell of the eggs. Never know them to cause flatulence.
So, yeah I wouldn't have got it and just thought you were being a bit odd.
It sounds like something an 8 year old boy would say.

Same. I would be handing my notice in!

I started a new job and was being shown around by my supervisor. Another colleague came along and my supervisor had a chat with her and then said "this is Blessed by the way" and the colleague said "Hello Blessed-by-the-way" and my supervisor cracked up and I just thought 'Nope I don't want to work here anymore!'

I bet new colleague is now wondering if her old job is still available.

Bet the new woman wishes she had known this going in.

I think you're the one offended because your 'hilarious' joke bombed. In order to make people laugh you have to be funny 🤷‍♀️

It wasn’t funny though. That’s not lighthearted ribbing, it’s just saying words.

This

Are you David Brent?