If you’ve had the experience of opening the workplace refrigerator only to find that the sandwich you’ve brought isn’t there, you should know that you’re far from the only one.
According to a study conducted by OnePoll, food theft in the workplace is a common occurrence. 41% of people in the United States claim that they’ve dealt with co-workers stealing their meals. This happens so often that many said they had to retaliate in some way.
Aside from direct confrontations, 30% of employees said that they aren’t afraid to steal the food back, while 35% decided to leave a handwritten note.
Strangely enough, the workplace fridge isn’t the only spot you should worry about. 25% of employees claim that they’ve had their food taken right out of the microwave.
The big question is—which food should you protect from food snatchers in the workplace the most? The answer is chips, fruit, and candy.
With food theft being such a common occurrence in the United States, one would wonder how to act regarding this issue. According to the survey, one in three Americans determined that the only solution was to stop bringing their food to work. Six out of ten people resolved the problem differently—by finding various ways to hide their meals from their co-workers.
Let’s take a look at the top 10 foods stolen at work:
- Chips—31%
- Fruit—28%
- Candy—27%
- Bread—22%
- Ice cream—20%
Check out some of our other articles about various job-related occurrences: