Break Room Etiquette and Fish?

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.

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.

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.

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.

would you want somebody walking into your cubicle or office and farting every morning and then walking away? same principle.

I guess its your office and your decision -- my best friend at work's desk is right by the kitchen and she suffers thru some gross food, including fish, burnt toast & popcorn. She has asthma and sometimes it really does make her have to leave her desk.