If you know it is irrational, then why are you “offended” by being called a germophobe? Own it! Like you say, we are all a little irrational. My germaphobe thing is not liking food being left out of the fridge, even if I know it is perfectly safe.
Sure, why not? Your kitchen has more potentially dangerous germs in it than that bathroom does. And it’s not like any of those germs that are there are actually going to get into your coffee. If it bugs you, wipe the container off with an antibacterial wipe before you open it later.
Ok, sorry I maybe worded my earlier comment badly saying North American, and entitlement. I live in Canada, I see it here, visit the USA, and I see it there. I don’t know what other people do.
When I was younger (and Im only in my early 40s) people didn’t seem to carry coffee with them everywhere, and eat on the street, on the bus, at work, anywhere they thought. Now it seems to be everywhere I go, people are eating and drinking. I don’t care that you do it, but I wasn’t aware suddenly everywhere is a dining room. I think its kind of tacky to walk around eating anywhere and everywhere. (It also pushes some hygene buttons for me, but I get that not everyone has that same level of concern I do.) I don’t like getting getting someone’s coffee splash on me on the bus, and I don’t particularly like watching people cram their faces while on work time. I get that part of it is my job… we aren’t allowed to eat in the nursing station (although many people do) so it seems weird to me to watch my grocery clerk eat a hamburger while she is ringing up my order, or my bank teller slurping her coffee in the middle of a transaction. It seems unprofessional to me, but YMMV.
My original point was that because I don’t carry coffee around with me all day it would never occur to me to bring it into the restroom. I drink a coffee at home. I have my own travel mug in my work bag, so on break I either make a cup in the break room, have my coffee, then do my business, or I would do my thing before making the coffee. Some days I don’t get breaks, and I will drink some water but not in public view. Again YMMV.
Plus I think its yucky, fecal bacteria etc.
Another thing to consider is that, at least for professionals, there’s far less time to eat or drink. Every day during the work week, I eat a granola bar in my breakfast and drink my travel mug of coffee because I don’t have time to eat it/drink it at home. I eat lunch at my desk every day because I have meetings throughout the day regardless of time - I’m often on the phone from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. (and, of course, if I’m on a meeting in my car, I don’t eat).
I wish I could just sit down to a meal at a table during the day, but my reality is that I can’t. I work in a really demanding field where I’m expected to be “on” when I’m at work. And that’s it.
Heck, even my 1st grader gets a grand total of 20 minutes for lunch. If he buys lunch, he only gets 10-15 minutes to actually eat it (one reason we load his bag up with healthy after-school snacks to take to after care). None of the kids are allowed to speak to each other in the lunch room because they have so little time to eat. Of course, he’s not allowed to wonder the school with food, but if he were in high school, I could understand if he were allowed to do so.
I think it looks weird to take coffee into the bathroom so I don’t. But if I don’t eat or drink in my car or at my desk, I’ll probably not eat more than once in a 24-hour period. As for cashiers slurping and eating…meh, yeah, it looks kinda gross, but I have no leg to stand on since I eat at work, too.
Bath Crashers just did a man bath with an espresso machine…
I just wrote a long reply to overlyverbose’s response, but decided better of it.
I think eating in your own office is ok, if company policy allows it, there is minimal risk of cross contamination, AND you are not dealing with the public at the time. Eating on the bus, in the at your till, while you are serving me food, or actually interacting with the public is gross. I often don’t get breaks, I always have something like cheese and crackers, or a granola bar to eat in a clean supply room or something in case I don’t get to eat at a table.
When I was a manager I had my own office and could eat and drink in there if I chose. Generally I chose not to, as a) I could almost always take my lunch break in the staff room, and b) it made enforcing the “no food or drink at your work area” more difficult. And there was no room for budging on this, in a blood donor clinic I couldnt have my staff eating on the phlebotomy floor, or in the screening rooms. Health Canada regulations prohibited this.
Outlierrn I totally get your boss’ sense of humour and I could eat poutine with gravy and ketchup right after dealing with a NG tube full of gastric contents but any supervisor I’ve ever had would call me on the carpet for having my coffee anywhere near work areas. I think I have had very OCD nurse managers along the way, lots of it has become ingrained into my work habits.
I just don’t understand why people snack everywhere and anywhere.
Among other reasons: (1) people’s schedules make it more difficult to schedule meals as a separate activity, and (2) there’s no good reason not to.
I think your policies make sense for your workplace, but not everyone works some place with a phlebotomy floor. At my work (in a corporate office), it would look far stranger for me to be hiding out, eating lunch in a supply closet as opposed to scarfing a few bites down at my desk. Plus, our “break rooms” in each wing don’t have tables or chairs. They have a coffee pot, water & ice machine, sink, fridge and trashcan. We have a larger room centrally located on each floor where the wings of the building converge where there are microwaves, but even those rooms have 2-3 chairs total despite their size. The only place with tables and chairs other than conference rooms (which are in high demand for meetings) is the cafeteria three floors down.
But I agree that if someone is serving me food, I don’t expect them to be chewing on a mouthful of whatever. That would seem strange. But it’s not at all uncommon at my work to see someone snacking at their desk or eating breakfast or lunch (or sometimes dinner).
I would take a cup of coffee in, but I’d leave it on the shelf or sink. I wouldn’t bring it into the stall with me.
I have to agree that someone eating while serving me food would be unacceptable. I don’t really see that as the same as bringing coffee into a bathroom, though.
While I’ve never done it myself, I can see why someone might. You spend $4 on a venti mocha grande, you get to your desk, and suddenly you feel nature’s call. You can tell that you’re going to be in there for a really long time. Might as well relax with a tasty beverage!
Just make sure you move the dishes first.
I don’t think I’ve ever do e anything like that but it wouldn’t bother me. I know I e brought bottles of beer into the bathroom and rested it on the urinal. This is not terribly unusual behavior, at least from what I’ve seen. I know food’s a different matter, but I’m not squicked out by it at all.
This seems somewhat appropriate… I love this sketch:
I voted “No, that’s weird and/or gross” but my co-worker said “only if it needed flavoring”.
Eeewwwwwwww.
That was fantastic.
“Sometimes” = I’m bringing it in to clean because it’s the only sink in the building. Who brings food and/or drinks into a bathroom?
Zombies?