Let's bitch about our stupid, annoying co-workers

xp - you are white though, yes?

I actually like the fish smell, so I guess we all can be glad that I don't share a workplace with you

Holy shit, I’ve seen a lot of bullshit on this board in the past but being called a white supremacist for believing that fish is not okay for a shared workspace really takes the fucking cake.

Jesus.

Here’s a good one. My boss made a homophobic remark about a gay coworker and I complained about it and got fired.

fucking hell Shaun, that's horrible. I suppose you've been given a gift being out of a work environment like that but it's still awful.

here's an Australian article about the issue:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-14/is-dislike-of-smelly-food-actually-cultural-intolerance/8891618

This article also refers to the racist component of complaining about food smells
https://roguecollective.ie/ten-microaggressions-in-the-workplace

it shows up in this tv show:
https://www.esquire.com/uk/culture/a36133403/adjani-salmon-dreaming-whilst-black/

sarahell what kind of fish was that??

I have heard of people going crazy over smells they aren't used to, curries and whatnot, that's their problem yeah.

In my previous office someone bought a plastic pouch for cooking eggs in the microwave. A few of us had to beg her to give it up cuz we thought we were going to pass out. She didn't seem to have a clue what we were smelling.

i don't think "fish" unlike curry, kimchi, etc. is associated with a race or ethnicity. popcorn also smells bad. as do cheap candles. i also do not like the smell of overripe bananas. def wouldn't think of complaining about a person's cultural food.

also people just microwave fish for longer than they should, would probably be fine otherwise

Lots of stuff that is actually delicious makes grim smells in an office microwave.

not to mention it's distracting. I love fish but smelling it for hours while I'm trying to work is not pleasant. esp after i've eaten, am not hungry anymore, and not likely to be enticed by its smell.

also yeah, not really getting "fish" as a cultural thing! unless it's a type of fish that is a regional delicacy (Japanese freshwater eel), as opposed to say, salmon or haddock, which are eaten everywhere, it's not the same thing as like complaining about someone's tandoori chicken or Jamaican meat patties.

a coworker made a bastardized seafood “bouillabasse” and brought the whole lot of it in a crockpot to work, and set it up in a empty cubicle in our work area as an “hey i made soup” station where it stayed all day

pretty sure that smell seeped into my skin and is still there

it was not cultural at all, it was “9 kinds of fish/shellfish simmering all day is not a smell you want in the work area”

Beastie Boys made a mean B-Boy bouillabasse

Is this trolling

Trawling, more like.

Always enjoy tuning into ilx to find out things like, when I get a migraine triggered by strong odors, it’s actually because I’m a white supremacist.

I'm saying -- what people feel is an "inappropriate food smell" is mostly based on cultural norms and where they grew up and what food smelled like growing up. Because most of us live in places like the U.S. and the UK where white supremacy exists, the cultural norms of that dominant white culture end up being prescribed as "universal". It becomes "microwaved fish smells bad" as opposed to "it smells bad to me" and acknowledging your own cultural biases.

And I hope we are beyond having to do the remedial definition of white supremacy, which has shifted from "member of KKK" etc. ... like, I see the food smell issue as somewhat illustrative of the ideas around structural racism and white supremacy -- these things are ingrained biases and assumptions and it doesn't make you evil to have them. Just that, to be a better person, you should acknowledge you have them and, in general, not be a dick about complaining what other people's food smells like.

... in a way that hurts them, makes them feel unwelcome, etc. ... complaining about it on ILX where assumedly your actual coworkers won't be hurt or offended is way less bad.

Remember, kids: If there's a shitty food smell in your office, wait for a non-white person to complain first. Then it's OK to chime in. Otherwise, you're being oppressive.

What about ppl who like fish and grew up in fish-loving families that think fish-smell in workplace is still a no-go?

I get what sarahell is saying for sure. But in my case, and I’m sure it’s similar for others here, a person of any ethnicity (they are usually white in my case) nuking some salmon or tuna will drive me right out of the room for an extended “break” everytime.

I'm still not buying "hating fish smell" = cultural bias since if you grow up on the East Coast, chances are you're exposed to "fish" culture. And 72% of US fishermen are white.

Obviously I acknowledge "eww your food is stinky" CAN be a product of cultural intolerance, but fish is a reach

the smell is not that bad… you people are soft

I say this as someone who has never complained about food smells too

Xpost

i envisage where you're coming from, sarahell, but also you're going way overboard

i mean i have lived in the midwest, but also the smell of microwave popcorn is among the worst things in the world

maybe first we should have workplaces that don't involve having to smell each others heated food packets

Yeah c’mon, fish smell permeates everything and lingers in an enclosed space. If you eat a cold sandwich or salad near me, I’m not going to smell like your meal until I shower and wash my clothes. If you microwave fish and eat it near me, I just might. This has fuck-all to do with anything but situational awareness and caring about the comfort of others around you.

Cold fish = totally fine

Throwing fish at ppl the best

maybe first we should have workplaces that don't involve having to smell each others heated food packets

― mookieproof, Sunday, September 26, 2021 6:54 PM (thirty-four minutes ago)

I agree! I think a lot of these workplace breakrooms that are used for food preparation don't have adequate ventilation. Like, compared to a restaurant kitchen? ... Definitely the design of the spaces contributes to the conflict.

i'm barely skimming this bullshit but fish is hard to reheat and is good cold

otoh, also if anything in a shared work microwave grosses you out, figure out another lunch solution.

Yeah only way I'll eat fish at work lunch is cold in a salad or sandwich.

Xpost How, if the break room is near your desk?

Granted I haven't worked in an office for 9 years but there was a long period of time where I did and break room was mega close by to my cube

I was once criticized at work for microwaving sauerkraut, but instead of chalking their criticisms up as a microaggression against my German heritage, I apologized and never did it again. (It didn’t even smell bad to me!)

that does not smell very strong in my experience.

If the use of a microwave annoys you you can always heat M&S sausage rolls in one. Seemed to kill the one i tried it with pretty dead.

Smell of burnt microwave is dope

the one thing that I definitely feel is an "inappropriate food smell" is burnt microwave popcorn. In my 20s I worked in a warehouse with a bunch of dudes in their 20s, and the ratio of burnt microwave popcorn to microwave popcorn popped successfully without burning was way too high.

Forget about reheated fish, those who eat cheese and onion Pringles in an enclosed space need to be fired immediately. Now there's a nauseating smell.

(I happen to love the smell of plain microwave popcorn; 'butter' flavour though is obvious grounds for dismissal.)

we are forgetting mcdonalds fries. both revolting and alluring at the same time.

the thing with a lot of pungent foods is that people bring them to work as leftovers and can just loosely set the lid on top of the microwaveable container, so the smell leakage is minimal

the lady who I used to work near who would just slap a raw fish filet, skin on, on to a plate and microwave it, was on a completely different level

the worst smell, which actually dissipated relatively quickly, was the incident where someone decided to microwave a hamburger, but walked away after starting the microwave. apparently typed in 10 minutes instead of 1 minute, which became clear when the fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate the building. this incident was kind of funny and not nearly as irritating as fish lady

imo if you break the social contract a little once in a great while, no big deal

if you’re scorching popcorn or desecrating the area with fish daily, wtf

i wouldn't feel safe around someone with that much hatred in their heart

the fish lady was confirmed to be a jerk when someone encountered her outside of work

pretty sure she knew what she was doing

distributing poison apples to schoolchildren no doubt

The pungent fake “butter” flavor/smell from popcorn is due to diacetyl, which is also a flavor component in certain fruit yogurts. That’s why sometimes you can smell a yogurt cup from like a mile away when someone opens it. Weirdly, it’s also a natural part of the flavor profile of coffee.

the popcorn lung chemical

ah yes the stuff that tells me I'm screwing up my homebrew beer

i think we can all agree complaining about bathroom smells is just plain dumb right?

back when I was still office bound, I was ripping a grumpy and although I courtesy flushed, my GI system was on overdrive that day. and apparently so was the guy next to me, it was a sort of shitting-in-stereo.

this jackass at the urinal loudly and obnoxiously, obviously for us to hear, said "JESUS, IT FUCKING *STINKS*". I mean....you're the one who walked into the doodoo room, what did you expect? cupcakes?