29 November 2023 , 17:27
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An awkward office encounter has left one woman uncomfortable after a colleague pestered her to cook her lunch.
Lunchtime is one of the most favoured times in an office working day, and when you prepare yourself a great meal it is even better. 'What are you having for lunch,' can be heard across desks every day. But, a 26-year-old woman was met with a "passive-aggressive" response when a fellow worker found out what she brings to work.
The woman, who wishes to remain unnamed, works for a design agency and is one of only a few staff members who bring their own lunch into the office. She makes her own lunch with exciting recipes every day - leaving her colleagues amazed, but staff member Sally, 27, had a different reaction. "From the first day she saw my lunch, Sally has thrown in a lot of comments like how envious she is that I could cook my own meals," the worker added.
A week later, Sally continued to ask her colleague about making her lunch. The annoyed anonymous woman, who took to Reddit to share what happened, said: "I was taken aback but I thought she was joking and waved it off with a smile and a nod. After that, at least once a week, Sally would ask me the same question again and sometimes she'd even say things like, 'you still owe me a lunch made by you' or she'll whine about me not wanting to cook for her. I've kindly turned her down every time she brings up about this issue."
Sally, who is a junior designer, offered her colleague three dollars (£2.40) to make her lunch. "I told her no again and she was visibly upset," the Reddit poster added. She continued: "She told me it's not that hard to make her lunch since I'm already cooking for myself every day, single and I am being unsociable and unfriendly by not making her food.
'I don't want children staying up late at weekends - I really need adult time'
"Since then, she has been passive-aggressive towards me. As well as not willing to cooperate at work when I hand her new tasks. It has made me feel bad about it and I have no idea how to go about this, should I have just made her lunch just to keep the peace?"
A new employee has wowed her office with her lunches, but one worker has become extremely envious, she claimed on Reddit. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"This feels horrible and I don't know how to deal with it," she shared. The worker has only been at the company for three months, and while she initially found her cooking as a great talking point, she no longer knows how to deal with Sally.
The lunch maker asked Reddit users on the Am I The A***** forum for advice and has been inundated with comments. A number of people suggested the worker take further action with her supervisor or manager. One individual said: "She’s acting extremely entitled and is now harassing you and ignoring the work you’re doing and not cooperating with you. You need to go to HR like yesterday. She’s interrupting the flow of work just because you won’t cook for her."
Another commented: "You definitely need to bring this up with your supervisor, and highlight her lack of cooperation at work! And don’t ever make her lunch—not even once! She is so entitled and you will have just taught her that if she harasses you for long enough, you’ll cave. You know it won’t put an end to this, she’ll just escalate."
A third wrote: "Sally is entitled. Document each time she makes comments and take them to your HR or boss."
Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments below.