Break Room Etiquette and Fish?

happywithme12

I noticed most of the people that said not to are women so I will be the opposite I work with one person who hates fish and she always runs her mouth when i heat it up and she has to smell it, well guess what I hate the smell of people bathing in there perfume, I don't think there is anything wrong with it and you should just ignore those people because they will always always find something to complain about no matter what you do. Enjoy your fish the smell goes away after a little while, just make sure you smile while you eat it so they know how much you are enjoying it lol and don't worry about the whiney babies

SteveJWatson

I do it. I don't care. I am eating healthy, and could care less what others think. I do Tilapia or Salmon with brussels! Not a *kitten* is given.

Thank you!

I was beginning to think that people with office jobs were born pathetic or had somehow reverted to being children.

MinnieInMaine

I like the idea of it being part of the no scent policy!! Same thing as avoiding perfumes/colognes IMHO as strong odors are highly offensive. One of my office buddies hates fish so much she will actually be on the verge of getting physically ill if she smells fish cooking. And while I'm a big fan of fish, I do not want that smell around me when I'm at work. It is way too strong and it lingers and messes with my head. It's one thing to smell fish when you're preparing to eat it but when you're smelling that while eating your turkey sandwich, it's kind of disturbing.

OP, you can still plan fish into your weekly meals, just cook it Thursday or Friday night and have the leftovers on the weekend (assuming you work Mon-Fri). Or make smaller batches. Or freeze the leftovers to have for dinner the next week.

SteveJWatson

I noticed most of the people that said not to are women so I will be the opposite I work with one person who hates fish and she always runs her mouth when i heat it up and she has to smell it, well guess what I hate the smell of people bathing in there perfume, I don't think there is anything wrong with it and you should just ignore those people because they will always always find something to complain about no matter what you do. Enjoy your fish the smell goes away after a little while, just make sure you smile while you eat it so they know how much you are enjoying it lol and don't worry about the whiney babies

moosegt35

I do it. some of the maroons here burn popcorn everyday as if you can't learn how to cook popcorm by your mid 40's so they can get over the fish smell.

dmurphy1975

When I heat up my leftover fish someone usually comments on how good my lunch smells. Of course I am in an office with many people who cook and eat healthy real foods.

BamBam125

Smelly food in the break room doesn't bother me a bit. I say enjoy the fish! Unless it's just REALLY strong I don't see the problem with it. My roommate in college used to hate the smell of Thai food. I worked part time at a Thai restaurant, so I often got free Thai for meals to-go (food is a nice perk to offset the low pay on a slow day for a broke college kid). Sure she complained sometimes but I hated the smell of her Dorritos, so it was even in my mind. It's a place where food is cooked and eaten, I don't see much of a problem if the place smells like food.

Smelly food that's eaten at one's desk... that might bother me. I try to be careful about NOT having smelly stuff at my desk (including drinks or lotions) because one's desk should be free of one's neighbor's wandering smells.

dirtnap63

Hmmm, my first thought was "Why the heck not? If someone doesn't like it that's their problem." After all, scents are very subjective, and what might be a pleasant odour for one person (coffee for ex.) may be pretty nasty for someone else. There was a thread recently about scent likes and dislikes. I bet if someone went through them( not me I'm too lazy) there would probably be some crossover from the like and dislike categories. So where do you draw the line?
However in the interest of office harmony, I'd put it to a vote, majority rules.
At the end of the day though you really have to ask yourself if it's worth raising a stink over?

LittleMissNerdy

What about using a toaster oven? Would that cut down on the fishy smell? That's if your office has one.

SteveJWatson

Hmmm, my first thought was "Why the heck not? If someone doesn't like it that's their problem." After all, scents are very subjective, and what might be a pleasant odour for one person (coffee for ex.) may be pretty nasty for someone else. There was a thread recently about scent likes and dislikes. I bet if someone went through them( not me I'm too lazy) there would probably be some crossover from the like and dislike categories. So where do you draw the line?
However in the interest of office harmony, I'd put it to a vote, majority rules.
At the end of the day though you really have to ask yourself if it's worth raising a stink over?

Interesting.

I am now a livestock farmer - before this I spent years as a trout farmer. Every day, at least twice a day, someone would have to empty the deads bucket and the guts bucket from the processing room into the big barrels of deads + guts that got emptied once every few months. Everybody had to do it when it was their turn.

If you couldn't put up with the smell you were a p u s s y and it was open season on you for ridicule. I have seen a grown man vomit doing this job in summer and he still carried on and finished the job.

A bad cooking smell? Just suck it up and get on with your life.

Edited to add: we had more than one woman employed gutting fish who did the above job without flinching.

classycouture

Hmm, very interesting. Thanks for all the input!

AuddAlise

As long as people continue to over load on perfume and cologne, I'll reheat fish in the microwave.

^^THIS! Perfume/cologne bother me more than food smells. Oh, and cigarette smoke...:sick:

The microwave is in my office so I smell my co-workers food smells. Who cares if its stinky. Move on with your day; it will dissapiate eventually.

LittleMissNerdy

Hmmm, my first thought was "Why the heck not? If someone doesn't like it that's their problem." After all, scents are very subjective, and what might be a pleasant odour for one person (coffee for ex.) may be pretty nasty for someone else. There was a thread recently about scent likes and dislikes. I bet if someone went through them( not me I'm too lazy) there would probably be some crossover from the like and dislike categories. So where do you draw the line?
However in the interest of office harmony, I'd put it to a vote, majority rules.
At the end of the day though you really have to ask yourself if it's worth raising a stink over?

Interesting.

I am now a livestock farmer - before this I spent years as a trout farmer. Every day, at least twice a day, someone would have to empty the deads bucket and the guts bucket from the processing room into the big barrels of deads + guts that got emptied once every few months. Everybody had to do it when it was their turn.

If you couldn't put up with the smell you were a p u s s y and it was open season on you for ridicule. I have seen a grown man vomit doing this job in summer and he still carried on and finished the job.

A bad cooking smell? Just suck it up and get on with your life.

Edited to add: we had more than one woman employed gutting fish who did the above job without flinching.

Bu the thing is, it's their JOB to do that. It's not my job to deal with your nasty smelling food. I will say nothing was worse then what someone had next to me on a plane. I can't even describe it. It was digusting and worse than any fish smell.

_DaniD_

I do it. I don't care. I am eating healthy, and could care less what others think. I do Tilapia or Salmon with brussels! Not a *kitten* is given.

tegantheaverage

Does cooked fish really smell that bad? I've never noticed

But I certainly do notice when someone who has been smoking stands/sits next to me and I feel like i'm going to choke because of the smell or when someone is wearing too much perfume and so if people complain about what I'm eating (I've had this with a few different meals) I usually just smile politely and apologize and then proceed to ignore them and continue to bring whatever I want.

SlickFootAnna

I reheat my tilapia in the office microwave when I bring leftovoers to work, which is rare. Afterwards I spray lysol in the breakroom. Eh, they will get over it.

classycouture

I do it. I don't care. I am eating healthy, and could care less what others think. I do Tilapia or Salmon with brussels! Not a *kitten* is given.

Perfection.

Cr01502

I'm curious to what everyone's thoughts are on leftover fish being reheated for lunch at work the next day. I never really thought about it before until about 20 minutes ago when I reheated last nights fish dinner and was greeted with disgusted looks and comments from a handful of coworkers about the smell. Now, I like to get the most for my money (seeing I don't have that much to go around), so I plan my meals with lunch leftovers in mind. Do I really have to pay attention to the food that I'm bringing into work, just because a few people don't care for the smell?

Tell em to get over it.

It's your work too and not their personal dining hall.

WinnerVictorious

Does cooked fish really smell that bad? I've never noticed

But I certainly do notice when someone who has been smoking stands/sits next to me and I feel like i'm going to choke because of the smell or when someone is wearing too much perfume and so if people complain about what I'm eating (I've had this with a few different meals) I usually just smile politely and apologize and then proceed to ignore them and continue to bring whatever I want.

it's not about what you eat. it's about the odor you leave behind that others have to suffer with until it dissipates, which in some offices can take hours. would you want somebody walking into your cubicle or office and farting every morning and then walking away? same principle.

if the smell stayed in the break room, then fine.

but i once worked at an office where the air from the break room was recycled into the building and anyone on the same floor as the break room was forced to endure those smells for the next couple of hours after lunch.

Andrew_peter

Don't give in to office whiners. With me it was first no fish, then popcorn, then no heating up meat products in the toaster oven because "I'm vegetarian and use it too"... Then they want the microwave out entirely because its"not healthy to use". Same people who complain constantly about the 50 year old entirely contained and safe asbestos on a few pipes in the basement, the "chill" in the building in winter, or the heat in summer.

Been there, what madness can ensue; and of course it's always the smokers or perfume-drenchers who stink to high heaven making complaints anyways. They don't like it tough, let em take it to an OHS meeting and make a fool of themselves in front of everyone with their whiny attitude (hilarious if you've never seen it happen).