Julie Russell, an editor at a publishing firm downtown, sits near the office kitchen, where she’s constantly subjected to questionable odors.
One mystery lunchtime offender regularly warmed up leftover fish in the microwave.
“It’s the absolute worst,” recalls Russell, 36, who lives in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. “I don’t even know how anything can smell that bad. It was this foul, hideous smell that would just gradually overtake the office. At first I’d think, ‘Am I imagining it? Do I smell?’ And then I’d look over at my seat mate and see her covering her nose and mouth with her scarf and realize it was happening again.”
Russell wanted to confront the fish-eater but was never able to catch the culprit in the act. “I don’t know how you don’t realize that you’re torturing everyone else in the office,” she says.
Only one out of three American workers takes a lunch break, meaning most people either eat at their desks or skip the meal entirely, according to a 2011 survey by Right Management. And if you’re dining al desk-o, a pungent lunch isn’t just annoying — it could be bad for your career, says Lynn Taylor, author of “Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job.” “It signals to your colleagues that you’re a bit self-centered and disrespectful,” says Taylor. (And trust us, your boss notices, too.)
Food smells in the office are particularly aggravating because they wreck concentration and make people feel like they have no control. “Your office mates may become passive-aggressive or short-tempered, because they don’t know how to address this sensitive issue with you directly,” says Taylor.
She adds that if you need to confront a colleague, be diplomatic but direct. “Make the concerns about health, such as insects or allergies, and let them save face,” she suggests. If you don’t feel comfortable bringing up the topic one-on-one, talk to your boss or HR about posting a notice in the break room or sending a department-wide email.
Most cold foods are safe. So by all means, go to town on neutral bites like yogurt, fruit, salads, sandwiches, hummus, quinoa and pasta salad. And if you’re really craving something stinky, eat in the break room, a vacant office or an empty conference room — and close the door, suggests Taylor.
But whatever you do, workplace experts and cubicle-dwellers beg you not to eat these stinky foods at your desk:
Hard-boiled eggs
A few years ago, Nathan Geddie, a downtown Brooklyn resident who works in television, had a job in a modern, open workspace meant to foster communication among co-workers. What people never addressed, however, was the stench that came from boiled eggs. “All the health nuts always liked them for breakfast — a big shot of protein — but it can’t smell particularly good to anyone, can it?” asks the 32-year-old. “They literally make me gag.” When he saw the eggs come out, Geddie would grab his laptop and walk away.
Microwave popcorn
Its aroma somehow manages to permeate the entire office, says Taylor. Even when it smells good, it’s distracting, since the scent reminds workers of being in a movie theater while they’re trapped at their desks. And when it’s burnt, the acrid stench lingers for hours.
Smelly veggies
We applaud you for eating produce. But please, do not nuke pungent broccoli, onion, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts. “It’s a form of biological warfare,” says Taylor. “To many, it smells like an unscented porta-potty.”
Fast food
At first, the aroma causes everyone to salivate. But then . . . the greasy chemical odor never really goes away. “Since people can no longer open their office window and oxygen masks aren’t yet fashionable, this is unkind,” says Taylor.
Fish
“I am guilty of heating up fish in the office microwave and eating canned sardines at my desk,” admits Nicole Cherie Mieloch, who works in the food industry and lives in the East Village. “I support freedom to eat whatever you want in the office and have probably offended many people.” But even the 31-year-old has her limits. One time, a colleague was eating Thai calamari takeout with a strong fish-sauce odor. She simply said, “What’s that smell?” He ’fessed up — and didn’t order it again.
Pizza
This smell confuses your senses. Are you at a party? Sadly, the answer is no. (And you don’t get to have a slice, either.) After awhile, all you’re left with is a workplace that smells like grease, garlic and pepperoni.