the bacon monitor, the baby boom, and other tales of holidays at work

by Alison Green on November 26, 2024

Over the years, readers have submitted a tremendous number of amusing stories about holidays at work. Here are some of my favorites.

1. The thief and the hero

At a temp secretarial job back in the day, the owner had a buffet set up for the employees as an appreciation lunch for completing a particular project (which was why I was there to temp since it was an all-hands/emergency situation).

One of the very well-paid senior employees took an entire tray of meatballs and an entire tray of pasta off of the buffet line, after the managers/seniors went, but before any of the other employees, who had to take a slightly later lunch that day. When called on it, he said that he needed it to feed his kids for the week – and the owner said if the only way he could feed his children was by stealing from his job and taking food from lower-paid employees, he was welcome to it. But the owner would be accompanying him to the food stamp office to apply or reporting him to CPS if he refused, because feeding his children should be his first priority and if his children could only be fed by stealing, that wasn’t something that could be ignored. It turned into a public argument about how the owner was shaming him for liking expensive things and needing a little help sometimes. Ended up as the employee’s last day.  (2022)

2. The divinity candy

Around the holidays, it’s not unusual for our office break room to contain an assortment of treats gifted to us from vendors or customers. Several years ago during this most festive time of year, I noticed a tray of what looked like divinity candy sitting out on the break room table. Divinity is not my favorite holiday candy, but it was early in the season, and the pickings were slim, so I decided to have a piece. Just as I took a bite, a coworker walked in and said, “Oh! You’re trying out my candy – let me know what you think of it!”

By this time the bite had well and truly settled on my palate, and let me tell you, I had opinions. Being a polite sort of person in real life, I was hesitant to tell her what I thought (which would have been difficult without swallowing, which was not an option at this point), but I can tell you – it tasted like a dog turd rolled in powdered sugar. Or what I assume a dog turd would taste like, having never sampled a dog turd myself. I stepped around my coworker to grab a paper towel to ostensibly wipe my mouth (and discreetly spit out the offending “candy’), then turned back around to address my coworker. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like it,” says I, in what I hope was a pleasant voice. “What’s it called?” Coworker replies, “I haven’t really thought of a name for it – it’s just something I experimented with.” Then she tells me how she made it.

Y’all. It was mashed potatoes. And not even real potatoes, but the boxed potato flakes. Prepared in the normal way with butter, milk and salt, then mixed with peanut butter, Karo syrup, and powdered sugar, then rolled in another healthy dose of powdered sugar. Dear coworker had made too many mashed potatoes for dinner the night before, and in an effort not to waste food, had decided to try her hand as a confectioner. I’m having flashbacks of the nauseating flavor and texture just typing this out. So gross. So, so gross. I mumbled something polite that probably came out as more of an “Oh! Hrrmm, interesting” or similar, then bolted from the room to warn the rest of my coworkers NOT to try the “divinity” in the break room.  (2023)

3. The baby boom

My former company had a fancy dinner at a hotel party with an open bar. It was a great event. Many people got hotel rooms but my spouse and I went home. I must have missed something because HR sent out an email saying that in the future there would be a two drink limit, beer and wine only, no shots or hard liquor.

And as a side note, almost exactly 9 months later there was a minor baby boom in the company.  (2022)

4. The bacon monitor

In one of my last jobs, our party planning committee, used to do company-wide catering for most major holidays. I swear, every single time we did a breakfast one and included bacon, we always had to have a member of the committee stand watch as the ‘bacon monitor’ and count how many pieces of bacon each person had. Apparently, a few years before I started, some people would pile a plate full of nothing but bacon, and no one else would get any.  (2017)

5. The homemade gifts

I worked in the children’s department of a public library for many years. Being quirky, creative people, we decided that our department of 7-9 (depending on year) would hand-make ornaments for one another each year, and unwrap them together at a mini party the day before the holiday when the department was always dead. We would bring homemade snacks too, so it was all good fun. Typically these ornaments consisted of a funny saying or item we encountered over our year in the department (hilarity happens surprisingly often as a public servant).

One year, my coworker painted the silhouette of our boss (who we had caught sleeping in their office chair once), which was received with cacophonous laughter. Another year, a woman had blatantly sworn up and down to one coworker that a part of one of the toy food kits her kids took home had never existed … “I remember there was no potato!” About a week later, she silently snuck into our department one afternoon, dropped the offending plastic potato on our desk without a word, and slunk out. So my other coworker (who had already deleted the plastic potato from our kit) poked a hole in it, strung it up, and wrote “There was No Potato!” on it for her gift recipient that year. Hilarious. So figure simple, silly things like that were always the basis for the ornaments.

But the one that takes the cake, for all the years before and after, was the “Snowman” cookie cutter. We loaned out cookie cutter kits to the general public. This was always met with a certain level of squick, since who knew if they were ever washed before or after, but they were one of our highest circulating items. One day, a woman came up to the counter to check out a package of Christmas themed cutters. She was ahem’ing quite loudly so me and my coworker went to check it out. Immediately we noticed the problem. Someone, possibly months or years prior, had taken the snowman out of the bag and re-bent it for a bachelorette or something similar. We knew this because upon closer inspection, the snowman was now a penis.

Both of us laughed so hard we almost peed our pants. We deleted the “Snowman” from the kit and let the woman check out the rest of the items. Why she still wanted to bake cookies with her kids using THAT set, knowing what it was previously used for, was beyond us. All was well for many months until our gift exchange … when we discovered someone on staff had not only rescued the penis cookie cutter from our trash, but had tied a glittery ribbon on it, and wrapped it up as their gift that year! Several of us burst into hysterics and one super conservative person was very much not amused.

More stringent guidelines about what constituted a handmade gift followed in years after.  (2023)

6. The revenge

A coworker at a place I used to work at got fired shortly before Christmas. On the day of the holiday party, while all the remaining employees were at the restaurant, she snuck into the office and glued all the mugs in the break room to the floor.  (2023)

7. The salsa 

My coworker used to bring her ‘famous salsa’ to every potluck. It was just three different brands of store-bought salsa mixed together. She even made a (completely serious) production of preparing it in the kitchen, like she was Julia Child. Pro tip: The trick was to ‘fold’ the salsa to get the best flavor.  (2022)

8. The remark

I work for a small family-owned company. Each Christmas, the owners, would host a fantastic Christmas party at their home with A LOT of wine. Years ago, a coworker’s wife got really drunk. As she and coworker were leaving, my boss said in a joking tone, “Are you sure you don’t want one more glass of wine?” To which she replied, “Why don’t you eat my ass?”

We haven’t had alcohol at a holiday party since.  (2017)

9. The cookies

When I was fresh out of college, I worked in a government office that was cuckoo for Christmas: a secret Santa ornament exchange, a big holiday party, a ladies-only holiday party (???), and cookie day. Legend day has it that in past years, the office had several women who loved to bake and got a real kick out of making one million (metaphorically, but close enough) cookies, then spending a lunch break piling them into huge gift platters and distributing them to all the other departments. Although these women had all since retired, the tradition had continued and I received an email requesting I bring in TEN BATCHES of cookies for cookie day. This email only went out to the women in the office, and this industry at the time skewed heavily towards men so that was maybe 20% of the office.

I actually love to bake, but gritted my teeth a little over the sexism of only asking the women. Even more concerning was the cost – I’d only been working full time for 3 months and December was coming in expensive, 10 batches was going to be a stretch. But the email reminders were increasingly filled with pressure to participate, reminders to ‘clear your weekend!’ to bake cookies. It was a brand spanking new job, my first full time one ever, so I decided I could afford to make six batches and if anybody had the nerve to hassle me about it further they could take it up with payroll.

Cookie day rolled around and it turned out I wasn’t the only one resentful of being strong-armed to “bake all weekend” for strangers in other departments. My coworker walked in late while everybody (every woman, anyways) was already plating, didn’t say a word and dropped one lone box of Oreos on the table. And I mean DROPPED, from a foot or more above the table so it landed with a thud that got everybody’s attention. Then she turned on her heel and left. It’s been 15 years and I have never seen another action as perfectly, beautifully passive aggressive. It still makes me laugh 15 years later.  (2023)

10. The cursed walk

A friend’s company always does their year end party in January for less stress and more bang for their buck. The first year I went, it was roaring 20’s themed in a rented out basement night club. I did multiple shots of tequila, including while linking arms with their CEO. We rallied friend’s department to the 24-hour diner three blocks away, and during that walk: three people got lost and called multiple times because they couldn’t figure out how to pull up google maps, the team lead started accusing us of kidnapping him, then puked on my shoes, then accused me of stealing his phone while trying to call his cab, resulting in an awkward conversation with a passing cop. The next year, it was a daytime event with drink tickets and a very specific “NO SHOTS, not even if you pay out of pocket” rule, complete with signs on the bar.  (2023)

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  2. Hey, I'm Wohrking Heah!*

    #5- I love that libraries check out tools and such, but your own cookie cutters seem like a worthwhile and affordable investment.

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    1. Higher-ed Jessica*

      Depends on how often you make cookies and how many shapes you want to make them in. I found a set of good cake pans to be an extremely worthwhile purchase, but I don’t have the space, budget, or need for a wide variety of different specialty shapes. Some libraries loan these and that’s awesome. Likewise, I could see borrowing holiday shape cookie cutters if you only need them once a year or less.

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      1. Artemesia*

        On a recent trip I decided to make my husband a birthday cake in the shape of Brunelleschi’s Dome which required a hemisphere pan. We don’ t have much storage space and tend to not go for specialty items like that. I just made my fourth dome cake with mousse layers in 3 weeks, because, dang it, gonna amortize the cost and the storage demands of that pan.

        I think it wonderful that libraries would loan out such little used items and I bet people would donate to the stash as they downsize. I have never known of a library that does that though. Very nice idea. These things are expensive so it also let’s people without the wherewithal to stock a kitchen with expensive cutters and pans to be able to do cool things for their family.

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        1. Perfectly Cromulent Name*

          The library in Andover, KS loans out cake pans! I don’t live there anymore, and I miss that feature of the library!

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    2. Fluffy Fish*

      I bake and have a collection of cutters but tbh they sit in storage all year until I pull them out for one occasion. Being able to just borrow some instead of have a box lay around all year would have been a great alternative.

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  3. Nonsense*

    You can definitely make potato candy, but, uh, you don’t make it with leftover dinner mashed potatoes.

    Fun fact time: basic potato candy is literally just mashed potatoes and powdered sugar – a lot of powdered sugar. Early on in the mixing, there’s this weird reaction that happens where everything basically turns to liquid, and then you keep adding powdered sugar until you form a pliable dough. And then roll it in more powdered sugar after it chills overnight. It is absolutely revoltingly sweet as an adult. Your kids and nieblings will eat it whole.

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    1. Elizabeth West*

      I think Tasting History made this once. I actually love divinity, but I believe it’s made from corn syrup and sugar, NOT mashed potatoes. I’ve never tried to make it myself, although years ago I bought a candy thermometer with the idea of trying it.

      I’m dying over the “snowman” cookie, though. We had these very old aluminum cookie cutters when I was a kid. One of them was a Santa with a pack on his back, but the shape of his legs and the wide part with the pack ended up becoming rather . . . amorphous upon baking. :D

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      1. Nonsense*

        Max Miller (Tasting History) has done both divinity and potato candy. B Dylan Hollis has also done potato candy and had a pretty similar reaction as my best friend the first time she watched me make some.

        I’d say #2’s coworker’s mistake was using leftover potatoes – I have a feeling the fat from the milk and butter caused the flavor to be off.

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        1. Charlotte Lucas*

          There was probably pepper in it, too.

          A childhood neighbor made divinity. It was delicious, but you have to do it when the humidity is low, or it doesn’t turn out.

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      2. Raechem*

        Divinity is egg whites, sugar, and chopped walnuts (though I’d do it with chopped pecans these days). My grandfather LOVED the stuff, so Grandma made it every Christmas. Both are gone now, alas.

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        1. Dust Bunny*

          Divinity is mostly meringue. No potatoes.

          And potato candy is not supposed to be made with leftover seasoned mashed potatoes!

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    2. Stormfeather*

      Huh, I think my mom used to make it from leftover mashed potatoes. Then again, we didn’t really add stuff to them prior to serving, just let people season/add butter/whatever as they wished.

      Sounds like maybe the coworker decided to experiment with the wrong things while adding them to the potato candy basics.

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      1. Strive to Excel*

        There’s also a lot of differences between leftover fresh potatoes and mashed potato made from flake. Moisture, chemical presence, etc.

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        1. Dust Bunny*

          Actually, there isn’t, but if the flakes were seasoned they’re pretty much a no-go for candy. Next time she should just make shepherd’s pie.

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      1. Elizabeth West*

        I made sweet potato gnocchi once — it tasted okay, but BOY was it tough. I think I over-kneaded it or something.

        As happened when the potato divinity story was first posted, now I want some.

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      2. Artemesia*

        folding is how you incorporate one ingredient into another in baking. I have been making cakes with mousse layers this month and it involves folding curds like lemon or orange curd into whipped cream. Beating or stirring destroys the lightness you are going for. Same thing when making souffles — you fold the whipped egg whites into the batter to retain the airiness of the whipped eggs upon which the souffle depends.

        but you were probably joking so nevermind.

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      3. Clisby*

        You gently incorporate the ingredients together with a wooden spoon, spatula, or similar. You don’t stir the ingredients together, or beat them together.

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  5. A perfectly normal-size space bird*

    #9 is my hero. I have been “volunteered” to do the cooking and baking at many, many work and non-work events, which always skews towards women. That coworker needs a shrine in her honor.

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    2. Nah*

      “voluntold” is a word I learned years ago that encapsulates these “hey guess what you’re gonna be doing for us for free!” demands, and I think Oreo Coworker is my new hero.

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  6. Cookie Monster*

    #6 – Gluing the mugs to the floor: How did they know it was her? Were there cameras? And if so, didn’t she KNOW there were cameras? And how did they get the mugs off the floor?

    I have so many questions but I also kinda love it for its pettiness.

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  7. LifebeforeCorona*

    No.1 owner is my hero for calling out the food theft. Imagine him going home and telling his family that this year there’s no meatballs and pasta and no job for daddy.

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  8. I Can’t Odd*

    A friend of mine works in an office that is having a “Pajama Party”-themed holiday party this year. (They are not going.) I have to assume that next year, a story from that will end up in this column.

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    1. Archi-detect*

      Pajamas feel oddly risqué to me in a way I cannot explain and is probably illogical. I wouldn’t want to see my coworkers in them even if everyone is fully covered

      Reply ↓
      1. I Can’t Odd*

        That’s what I was thinking. Even if all your coworkers were wearing flannel pajamas like it was the 1850’s, you’d be mentally directed to thinking about what people wear in bed, and that’s not a work thing.

        And not everyone would choose wisely.

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              1. I Can’t Odd*

                I arbitrarily picked a decade and used pajamas as generic for nightwear. But yes, even if they had a union suit, a flannel nightgown, and a robe (and thus were melting in a properly-heated venue), it still seems weird.

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      2. sparkle emoji*

        Yeah, I don’t wear a bra with my pajamas and some full coverage pjs can still be thin or clingy in ways I don’t want coworkers to see. But I also hated PJ day in grade school so I may be weird about this.

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        1. Charlotte Lucas*

          I’m old enough that my middle and high schools has dress codes. While some rules were silly and arbitrary, I am grateful to this day for the things I didn’t have to see because of it.

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  9. PDB*

    I had a girlfriend who worked in a law library and firms would send gift baskets and candy at Christmas time. Each basket and box had a sign in sheet and you had to sign for the piece you wanted.

    Reply ↓
        1. LifebeforeCorona*

          And someone with a silver pair of tongs, gently removes the candy of choice and places it in your outstretched hand. Then you bow to the higher-ups, touch your forehead and thank them for their largesse while The Beadle, Mr. Bumble glares at you.

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    2. Fluff*

      I can see someone using their name stamp and signing out every. single. piece. I think I might even have an ancient stamp with my name on it somewhere.

      Reply ↓
    3. NotRealAnonForThis*

      Once worked in a non-academic department of a public university in the USA.

      All gift baskets were donated so as to not present any potential conflict of interest. This included the 5 gallon bucket of Hershey’s kisses that the owner of a firm we did a lot of business with had brought specifically for the staff (who were mainly under the age of 25 and quite frankly, we all had a candy habit and he knew it! He also knew that we had exactly ZERO say in who got contracts and business and were probably underpaid, so it wasn’t exactly like he was bribing someone or asking for a favor!). Big sads.

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    1. A Library Person*

      I’m not sure I would be brave enough to attempt this, but I have made a Velveeta/over-processed-“cheez”-product-of-choice fudge and it worked surprisingly well! All of my coworkers enjoyed trying “the cheese fudge” (note: I did not spring this on anyone as a surprise; everyone knew what was up when tasting it). The tricky part is fully integrating the cheese…trust me on that one.

      Reply ↓
  12. Red Wheel Barrow*

    It’s a little disturbing how happy it makes me that someone getting fired for stealing the shared office food.

    Reply ↓
    1. Charlotte Lucas*

      It’s the supreme entitlement, especially in someone whose ostensibly a leader that makes it so satisfying.

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    2. ReallyBadPerson*

      It wasn’t just the stealing, though. It was their entitlement. They deserved it but the other employees didn’t? I don’t like to see people fired for petty reasons, but this person’s aggressive stance makes me suspect they had other issues as an employee.

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      2. Artemesia*

        it is the stealing it before people were served. I have seen this happen before — someone grabs a tray of something and takes it to their car before an event, but it was usually at church dinners or similar events. For managers to steal food before workers have a chance to eat is a particular kind of gross.

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          1. Pam Esan Cheese*

            LOL the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster of the Foil Pan on the Floor of the Passenger Seat.

            The joke is that there is a parody religion called the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and also that the dish the person steals is a pan of spaghetti. I am not implying that FSM followers are thieves, only what kind of church might have a very popular and specific potluck dish

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            1. It's Marie - Not Maria*

              The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is an officially recognized religion in a couple of countries – Australia being one of them.

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      3. Venus*

        Yes, someone who is told by the CEO that they need to return the trays or else they would get help to sign up for food stamps clearly has bigger issues elsewhere. How could someone be so aggressive on this point and not have that show up *everywhere* in their work. I can’t imagine stealing that much food and then fighting for it.

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        1. Kay*

          Yeah I don’t think it was the stealing per se, it was the public argument. And I’d bet money it’s not the first issue with the guy.

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        2. PurpleShark*

          Right?! The fact that he doubled down and argued with the CEO in front of everyone? The only time this would be somewhat understandable if he was the family pet and this was a meatball that rolled off the table. Otherwise, that was such extremely bad form that he should have been embarassed and apologized.

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    3. Bunny Girl*

      I used to work at a law firm as an admin and all the admins made minimum wage in a very expensive city. So we were all super poor. Luckily there were client meetings galore and they always ordered a ton of food, otherwise I would have never been able to afford actual restaurant food. But we had a lawyer (A PARTNER) that would literally sprint to the lunch room when he heard there was food there. It was ridiculous. He took enough to feed at least five people. It always chapped my hide. I would have been soooo happy to see him fired.

      Reply ↓
  13. Onyx*

    Is anyone else confused by the squick about borrowed cookie cutters? That sounds like a great thing to borrow rather than owning every cutter shape you might occasionally want to use. All the cookie cutters I use are hard, non-porous materials (metal like the snowman in question or hard plastic), so it seems like all you’d have to do is wash them yourself before use (which I’d do anyway even if I knew 100% that they were well-washed before going into the library’s storage). I can’t think of much that I would expect to get on cookie cutters and survive a trip through the dishwasher even if I don’t trust the hygiene of the other users.

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    1. Charlotte Lucas*

      Maybe they come back really, really dirty? But I do the same. My own cookie cutters are washed before and after use. (They can go a long time between uses.)

      Reply ↓
    2. stitchy*

      I’m with you. I’m especially confused about the comment on “why would you want to use a cutter set after knowing one of them (which is no longer part of the set) was used for bachelorette cookies.” They’re still just cookies, and the baking process is the same, regardless of the shape or occasion.

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    3. Micki*

      My town has a tool library and I know of a baking library in a nearby city. I love both of these because sometimes you just need to do a project without having to buy or rent the equipment for it.

      Reply ↓
      1. Charlotte Lucas*

        My local library checks out birdwatching kits. Definitely something you want to test drive before investing in.

        Reply ↓
    4. Hlao-roo*

      I think this part explains it: “since who knew if they were ever washed before or after.”

      For the patrons who borrow, wash, use, wash, and return the cookie cutters there’s nothing to worry about. But the librarians know there at least one patron out there who will use the cookie cutters without washing them first and at least one patron out there who will return the cookie cutters without washing them (or washing them well). That’s where the squick comes in.

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        1. KateM*

          And you can be the one who cleans your cookie cutters. Nobody but the one who doesn’t is influenced by bad washing.

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      2. Spacewoman Spiff*

        Yeah, having worked in a library…people are DISGUSTING. I had to deal with returned books with so many horrifying substances on them, it really made me question humanity. I’d guess the letter writer just has a serious case of having handled one too many mysteriously gooey library books.

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    5. Strive to Excel*

      I’d side-eye a plastic set, but for a metal set, not so much.

      If I were checking them out I’d wash pretty well before using of course.

      Reply ↓
    6. Fluffy Fish*

      People can be very weird about used things. I thrift almost exclusively and the number of people I talk to who are grossed out by used items is definitely non-zero. And its often specific – like there’s people who won’t by used sheets but clothes are ok. Just means more inexpensive stuff for the rest of us.

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    7. Dust Bunny*

      Because who is cleaning them? Are the librarians cleaning them before they check them out again? I assume people would wash them before they used them but dried dough can be terrible to get out, especially if it has a lot of egg in it. Most of my cookie cutters have a metal rim on the non-cutting side that could theoretically collect detritus.

      (This is why surgical instruments are cast in one piece now. Antique instruments with separately-made handles are impossible to clean.)

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    8. MotherofaPickle*

      Same on all counts.

      I only have 3? actual cookie cutters, all specific shapes because I was trying to appeal to my dad’s childhood nostalgia (the important one that I lost was a camel).

      I don’t want to pay for something that’s I’ll only use every 5 years and takes up space. I am also going to wash, and probably bleach then wash again, communal property like that. Just in case.

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    9. Perfectly Cromulent Name*

      A library in a town I used to live in checked out fancy cake pans! I always washed them before I used them and before I returned them, but it was not that big of a deal. I’d totally check out cookie cutters if I could.

      Reply ↓
  14. toolegittoresign*

    I would really love to know what’s actually going on with #1 where you’re so committed to taking the food that you’re willing to lose your job over it.

    Reply ↓
    1. Ellekat*

      Sounds like that may have been the culmination of a larger pattern that OP only came on the tail end for. But you’d be surprised. I’ve seen people walk off with whole pallets of drinks (including bottles of liquor), trays of food etc. at my workplace’s many receptions and get-togethers. I’d speculate he’s probably done it or seen it done with no one saying anything, and when called out he felt “singled out.”

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      1. Kay*

        Where I work people will fill tupperwares with buffet food but 1) not until the event is over and it’s leftovers and 2) with the enthusiastic permission of our admin assistant, since it’s already paid for and is one less thing for her or the cleaning staff to deal with. Taking a whole tray while the event is still going on is incredibly entitled!

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        1. samwise*

          Same here. We check with our student workers first to make sure they have plenty. Then staff take reasonable amounts. Anything left at the end of the day, staff who are required to be in the office til closing can clean it out.

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    2. Sola Lingua Bona Lingua Mortua Est*

      It’s also possible the fight was moot and the CEO had already decided that would be the thief’s final day.

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    3. Micki*

      I speculate that when he was called out on it, he realized that he had two choices:

      1. back down with apologies and humility, knowing it’s all people would see when they looked at him for the foreseeable future
      OR
      2. Double down and insist that he had the right or even the moral high ground based on whatever he could come up with in the moment (“think of the children”) because option 1 is untenable.

      There is a reason pride is one of the deadly sins.

      Reply ↓
      1. Charlotte Lucas*

        Just remembered something from when I was sent to religious day camp. The feet might be used in a “Footsteps in the Sand” lesson. Iirc, we got feet made out of that permanent art dough stuff (popular in the 70s) with a copy of that poem, essay, what have you.

        Mystery solved!

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  16. Elara Harper*

    People are weird about free food, period. I also worked somewhere a veep was fired for taking an entire tray of cinnamon rolls that had specifically been purchased for a breakfast for assistants on secretaries’ day. One of the assistants saw the tray in the VP’s office and went to retrieve it, and the veep started shouting at her, which drew the attention of the CEO. A closed door convo between VP and CEO ended with VP leaving permanently. The veep made mid-six figures and could have purchased her own tray of fresh cinnamon buns for $60 (at the time).

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    1. Anona llama*

      “People are weird about free food, period.” THIS. My department had a Halloween-themed employee breakfast one year. A co-worker took two enormous handfuls from the candy bowl, plus stuffed their pockets and jacket with juice bottles and wrapped pastries. For context, this same co-worker also refused to pay an extra dollar to add cheese to their sandwich when we all got subs.

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      1. Phony Genius*

        In some cases, I think this is less about getting free food and more about enforcing hierarchy. I wouldn’t be surprised if this VP simply couldn’t stand people who were “beneath” her being given something that wasn’t given to her. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they weren’t fired, but quit because they didn’t want to work somewhere that would wouldn’t allow such a strict hierarchy.

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    1. Charlotte Lucas*

      Agreed! I was thinking that if the rank and file employees had to have a delayed lunchtime, the executive staff could do the same.

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