Woman Hijacks An Entire Fridge At Work, Doesn’t Take Confrontation From A Coworker Well

62% of American workers are extremely or very satisfied with their relationship with their manager or supervisor, and 67% say the same about their relationship with their colleagues. But Reddit user Ehtio isn’t part of that group.

In a post on r/AITAH, they described the conflict that has been brewing between them and a woman from the office, “Anna,” who has been using the shared company fridge to store dozens of homemade meals, leaving little room for anyone else’s food.

The office has its own etiquette, even when it comes to the fridge

Woman looking frustrated inside an overcrowded office fridge, struggling to find space for her lunch.

Image credits: unsplash (not the actual photo)

And if one person tries to put themselves above everyone else, it usually causes trouble

Man struggling to find space for his lunch in office fridge due to coworker storing homemade lunches.

Office fridge crowded with coworker’s multiple lunch containers, leaving no space for others’ food storage.

Text about coworker conflict over fridge space and lunch storage in a shared office environment.

Man has no space to keep lunch in fridge, coworker reports issue to HR leading to conflict at <a target=

work.” />

Angry woman yelling at coworker sitting at table frustrated over lunch space in office fridge issue.

Image credits: unsplash (not the actual photo)

Text on a white background describing a coworker spreading rumors and making life miserable at work.

Text excerpt about a coworker's false HR complaint creating a hostile work environment related to lunch space issue.

Man has no space to keep his lunch in the fridge, coworker reports issue to HR causing workplace conflict.

Text describing a coworker reporting HR about lack of fridge space for lunch, causing workplace conflict and isolation.

Text excerpt displayed on a plain white background discussing if reporting a coworker was the right choice or worsening the situation.

Image credits: ehtio

There’s often a lack of clear guidance around the office kitchen, but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want in it

Image credits: unsplash (not the actual photo)

There are a lot of ways coworkers get under each other’s nerves. One survey found that the biggest office pet peeves are:

1. Stealing food from the office fridge – 97%
2. Loud personal calls in a shared space – 96%
3. Interrupting and talking over others – 95%
4. Desk hovering – 93%
5. Coming into the office while sick – 91%
6. Not respecting shared restrooms – 89%
7. Filming yourself for social media while at work – 88%
8. Eating loudly in meetings or shared spaces – 87%
9. Leaving a mess in shared spaces – 86%
10. Wearing overpowering perfume or cologne to work – 86%

And while setting up your personal restaurant in the office isn’t on the list, it’s easy to imagine people hating such a venture when it’s clearly done at their expense.

Maintaining a clean and hygienic shared kitchen is also an example of what’s often referred to as a “non-promotable task”, and if the same employee is stuck doing it day in and day out, it can slow their career progression.

Libby Sander, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Bond University, Australia, explains that it can be a good indicator of overall office culture, too.

According to her, most employees don’t deliberately set out to disregard their co-workers’ feelings, but a lack of consequences for inconsiderate etiquette can lead to it becoming entrenched behavior.

“[If the same people are constantly picking up the slack, it’s] going to lead to frustration and resentment, and maybe eventually going in and yelling at somebody, which is not the outcome that you want,” Sander explains.

However, in our case, that’s precisely what the Redditor was pushed to.

One of the difficulties of maintaining a clean office kitchen is it’s an area where there are often no clear communications or workflows in place to determine who is responsible for what, but Sander says it’s ultimately up to senior leaders to know what’s happening in their organization.

So, it’s probably best for all that HR was notified.

People have had a lot to say about the coworkers’ conflict

Screenshot of a Reddit discussion about a coworker reporting a man to HR for having no space to keep his lunch in the fridge.

Reddit thread discussing a coworker reporting another to HR over lunch space issues in the office fridge.

Comment discussing coworker issues about lack of fridge space for lunch, suggesting need for a second fridge at work.

Comment on a forum discussing a man having no space to keep his lunch in the fridge, sparking coworker complaint to HR.

Comment discussing the issue of limited fridge space causing problems for coworkers storing their lunch.

Comment on a forum discussing a man having no space to keep his lunch in the fridge, suggesting getting a bigger fridge.

Comment from coworker questioning HR’s role after man has no space to keep his lunch in the fridge at work.

Text post from Reddit user theinnocentincident sharing experience as a manager about HR and coworker issues related to lunch fridge space.

Comment discussing lack of fridge space for lunch and suggesting a second fridge instead of complaining about coworker.

Text post discussing coworker lunch rights and fridge space issues, highlighting lack of space for lunches at work.

Comment discussing lack of fridge space for employees' lunches and need for bigger fridge at workplace.

Comment discussing lack of space in office fridge for lunches and coworker reporting the issue to HR.

Screenshot of a discussion about a man having no space to keep his lunch in the fridge and coworker reporting to HR.

Screenshot of a coworker reporting to HR about a man having no space to keep his lunch in the shared office fridge.

Comment discussing a man having no space for his lunch in the fridge and a coworker reporting it to HR.

Screenshot of a coworker commenting about office policies related to fridge space and reporting issues to HR.

User comment discussing coworker issues about no space to keep lunch in the fridge and reporting to HR.

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