Office lunches are a delicate dance of flavors, personal space, and unspoken rules. There’s always that one person microwaving fish at 11 AM, another whose salad crunches louder than a construction site, and the coffee enthusiast who somehow uses every single mug in the break room.
But when those break room aromas start wafting through the air, catapulting you directly to the bathroom, it’s not just about appetite – it’s about survival. Just like it happened to one pregnant Redditor who couldn’t take her coworker’s love for tuna anymore and asked him to give up his stinky lunches.
More info: Reddit
The office break room is a place where friendships are formed, gossip is worshipped, and strong-smelling food starts full-on wars
Image credits: syda_productions / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One pregnant woman can’t stand her colleague’s daily tuna lunches anymore, asks him to eat something less stinky, but gets called a jerk for it
Image credits: Electra Studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The man eats unrefrigerated tuna every day, stinking up the entire break room, which makes the pregnant woman sick all the time
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman confronts her coworker in front of everyone, asks him to change his lunches to something less smelly, but gets reported to HR for it
Image credits: Drazen Zigic / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Towfiqu barbhuiya / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The woman apologizes to the man for calling him out in front of everyone, and has her HR complaint dismissed
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The woman’s colleagues call her an entitled dictator for telling the man what he can eat, despite there being a rule that people shouldn’t eat smelly foods in the break room
The OP (original poster), a very pregnant employee just trying to make it through her shift without revisiting breakfast, found herself in a daily battle with her coworker’s lunch choices. The villain of this odorous saga? Tuna. But not just any tuna – Spanish tuna, marinating in tomato puree, unrefrigerated, and unleashed upon the break room in the middle of summer.
Now, this wasn’t just a mild inconvenience; this was the kind of scent smack that sent her running to the nearest bathroom, dry heaving like she was in a horror movie. And after one too many lost battles with her gag reflex, she finally snapped in the break room, in front of everyone, and asked the coworker to eat literally anything else… except stinky fish, of course.
What happened next? Well, instead of a simple “sure, my bad,” the coworker turned beet red, abandoned his tuna mid-lunch, and stormed out. Drama levels? Off the charts. Soon, other colleagues were weighing in, calling our pregnant friend an entitled food dictator, and HR even had to step in.
Turns out, though, the break room already had an unspoken, but also kind of spoken, rule about avoiding pungent foods, and our tuna-loving coworker had been ignoring it all along. Apparently, the OP wasn’t the only one who complained about the smell, so Tuna Guy had to eventually give up his beloved Spanish “delicacy.” Who knew canned fish could cause such workplace tension?
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If you’re wondering why the OP couldn’t just “get over it,” let’s talk pregnancy science. You see, pregnancy hormones can make smells much stronger and more overwhelming than usual. This is also known as hyperosmia. A scent that might have been mildly unpleasant before can become absolutely unbearable during pregnancy. It’s a physiological response, not a choice.
Hyperosmia can trigger nausea, making a simple work lunch feel like an all-out hit on the senses. So, while it may not be anyone else’s responsibility to cater to a pregnant person’s needs, a little empathy goes a long way. Plus, it’s common courtesy to be mindful of strong-smelling foods in communal areas. A good rule of thumb? If your lunch can clear a room faster than a fire drill, maybe save it for home.
After some soul-searching (okay, maybe after reading some Reddit comments calling her a jerk), our pregnant friend admitted she could have handled things more tactfully. Publicly shaming her coworker wasn’t her finest moment, and she apologized.
The pros say that handling conflict with a coworker is a fine art—one part diplomacy, two parts patience, and a whole lot of deep breathing. Instead of a public face-off in the break room, a better approach is to address the issue privately and politely. Be calm, but direct, and don’t postpone addressing the issue. Bonus points if you can keep a positive attitude.
If that doesn’t work, looping in HR (without turning it into an office-wide scandal) might be the next step. And, of course, if you’re the tuna enthusiast in question, maybe consider meal-prepping something less…aromatic. Everyone wins.
What’s your take on this story? Have you ever been in a similar stinky situation? Let us know in the comments!
Netizens call the woman a jerk for confronting her coworker in front of everyone, instead of having a private conversation with him
