A colleague complained about my reheated fish lunch. What compromise is fair in a shared office?
Food"Can you not bring that again?" my colleague asked as I took my fish and potatoes out of the office microwave. Two other people looked up, and I felt suddenly very conspicuous.
The kitchen is a small alcove beside the desks. Food smells do reach the room; I'd noticed somebody's fried onions earlier without minding them. My colleague says fish is different because the smell stays with him while he's working. I can't tell him what he finds unpleasant, but his request sounded like a permanent ban on a lunch I enjoy.
There's no eating area elsewhere indoors, and I don't want every lunch to depend on the weather outside. Nobody has mentioned an allergy or a medical concern. This is about comfort in a cramped shared room.
Would you offer to bring that meal less often, ask for a discussion about the kitchen for everyone, or simply choose another lunch? I want to be considerate without making one person's disliked food the entire rule.