Finding an appropriate office lunch is a minefield. The kind of minefield that risks a mortifying, all-office “Reminder NOT to heat curry in the microwave” email if executed incorrectly. Obvious no-nos are egg mayonnaise, sloppy burritos, and anything involving fish, but then what about a harmless tuna salad? And if you sit opposite the office veggie, are BLT sandwiches allowed?
A new study conducted by interior landscaping firm Ambius (because, erm, nothing enhances an interior space like anxiously munching coworkers) delves deeper into the precarious world of eating al desko. Surveying 1,000 UK office workers, the firm found that two thirds eat lunch at their desks most days of the week.
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And what are these one-handed typers stuffing in their mouths and trying not to spill over their keyboards? Hopefully nothing with too pungent an aroma: Ambius also found that over half of those surveyed branded colleagues who eat smelly food in the office as “anti-social.”
The most anti-social of these foods were mackerel, sardines, cheese, and eggs. There goes tomorrow’s niçoise salad, then.
The survey found that the least offensive lunches were those of tempting buttered toast, pastries, and bacon sandwiches. Commenting on the findings, Gareth Cowmeadow of Ambius said: “Some people may not realize how much of an effect their lunch choices could have on coworkers who sit near them.”
But what might be even worse than oblivious, pickled onion-chomping coworkers, however, is that Ambius also found that two out of five of office workers simply do not have enough time to take a proper lunch break.
Too busy for lunch, or too scared that Hot Tom from accounts might catch a whiff of those sardines on toast?
