Asklemmy

The only work theft I ever tolerated was coffee creamer, because we all knew who was addicted to coffee, and we all sort of stole in a circle from each other for a day or two when we ran out of our own.

Never ever been in a place where people take food that isn't theirs. I cannot even comprehend it. And if it happened more than once I'd keep my food in a backpack at my desk.

Is it yours? If no don't touch. Simple as that.

A guy I worked with had his lunch stolen from the freezer one day. He walked around and found the empty container in the trash of a new guy. He was canned that day.

Because that's not how the corporate world works. You want to freak out and yell at them? Go ahead. Maybe they don't eat someone else's food for a week. Meanwhile you'll be hunting for a new job. You threaten another employee? You'll be lucky to be employed at the end of the day.

Life is a series of tradeoffs. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Tim may steal food, but that doesn't mean it's throwing off the status quo. You yell at Tim, you're upsetting the status quo. So go ahead, and have fun with your pink slip. Hope it was worth it.

Or you can keep your lunch at your desk.

Happened to me too. Didn't know who it was. I ended up keeping my lunch in my backpack (thermally insulated container), and no one stole my lunch after that.

I empathize of your outrage. I once worked at a place with 100+ employees and high turnover, and people would steal lunches there. When I first heard about it I was horrified. The reality is that the company doesn't care, and unless you're the person whose lunch is being stolen, most co-workers won't care either -- they wouldn't even know how to help you.

A solution could be as simple as a camera pointed at the fridge, along with firing any thieves. IMO the fact that most places don't take it seriously is evidence of how little they care about the employees.

Yall dealing with people stealing food? Ive worked in an office setting for almost 20 years and ive not once ever heard of someone taking someone elses food

I'm guessing that they don't know who stole the food

I agree. It's theft.

HR should absolutely get involved because it's going to really affect the working environment. And if you're hungry as a result, you're really not going to be doing your best work.

Maybe because the only co-worker food theft stories that get upvoted and therefore seen are the dramatic ones about passive-aggressively making gross food for the food thief. And who knows how many of them are true stories and how many are creative writing projects for internet points.

My cop relative said everyone working in police stations keeps their stuff in lockers because cops constantly steal from each other. Not just food.

I mean the real answer to your question is that those posts are all fake because the internet loves stories about revenge on such a small scale they can't be disproven.

But I want to know what kind of job keeps you by the fridge 24/7 so you can always witness food theft. Most people don't work in the break room, so they have no way of knowing who to yell at when their food disappears.

1. The average person wants peace in their life.

2. These are the fringes that the malicious operate best.

1. Because it's not really worth the hassle to you.

Most actually don't want to yell and scream at someone, to escalate a situation, to involve themselves with "authority figures" that do nothing but work preserve the hierarchy around them.

It's exhausting just to exist while we suffer this way of life. People just gotta pick their battles because we are losing the class war.

2. Because they feel safe to antagonize relentlessly.

these malicious actors know the average person wants this peace. They pick and poke ceaselessly like the vultures they are. What are you gonna do about it? Nothing.

Even if you do stand your ground, you will be vilified for putting the front of their face into the back of their skull.

Or if you yell and scream, others will think you're crazy/dramatic/unreasonable regardless of the circumstances.

Or perhaps you plead uselessly to your indifferent "authority figures" who only exist to exploit you in the most efficient way possible. Utterly toothless. Can you be surprised? We are not free while living like this.

Because they don't know what i put in there.

If they're any good at it, you won't know who stole your food. If I did know who the thief was, yelling/cursing/threatening would get me fired. It's easier to keep my food at my desk in an insulated lunchbox with an ice pack.

And finally, HR doesn't give a flying fuck about your lunch. They would laugh in your face if you threatened to sue them.

How else are they going to identify middle management prospects?

Stealing food is theft - it may be petty theft but it's still theft. If you report it to HR and nothing is done then you can sue the company for a hostile work environment.

If you use laxatives, excessive spice, whatever and injure a coworker then you can be fired with cause and possibly be civilly or criminally liable if the damages are significant enough.

Where I work HR put a big sign on the refrigerator door about not stealing food

Um yea I think thats just social media attention seeking. I don't think that is any more common than something like shoplifting.

Reddit loves to upvote drama.

I always keep Lunch in my backpack at my desk or eat in a cafeteria. The best way to be chill about a problem is to avoid having the problem.