{"id":1657,"date":"2017-03-14T09:30:36","date_gmt":"2017-03-14T09:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com\/blog\/?p=1657"},"modified":"2026-02-27T08:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:02:07","slug":"desk-lunch-etiquette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com/blog\/desk-lunch-etiquette\/","title":{"rendered":"Dining at your desk? Here’s the lunch etiquette you should follow"},"content":{"rendered":"

For some time now, the culture of long lingering lunches has been replaced by a quick meal at the desk. Reasons for this lifestyle shift range from meeting impossible deadlines, overachieving at work, to simply wanting to spend more time with family.<\/p>\n

According to a Gallup survey, nearly 67 percent of American workers eat at their desk more than once a week. Known best for their laissez-faire attitude, even the French are moving toward fast food<\/a> to cut down on lunch breaks. So when scarfing down a sandwich or salad at your workstation becomes the order of the day, keep this workplace lunch etiquette in mind.<\/p>\n

\"Lunch

Working through lunch? Pack a sensible meal. From\u00a0montreal_bunny<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Eat your lunch at lunchtime<\/b><\/h3>\n

While eating at your desk gives you the flexibility of making any hour your lunch hour, it is best that you eat at your desk during typical lunch hours. Entrepreneur.com<\/a> reports, \u201cIf everyone around you is eating, you\u2019re less likely to annoy people or distract your officemates.\u201d Think about it this way: your co-workers are less likely to bother you if they\u2019re busy eating too.<\/p>\n

Choose your meal wisely<\/b><\/h3>\n

Some foods, as delicious as they may be, smell funny. And by funny, we mean they stink. And by that we mean, you better eat them\u00a0anywhere but<\/em> the office.<\/p>\n

Look no further than your neighbor\u2019s cubicle to understand the type of foods you should reconsider bringing to the office. Avoid any pungent dish that sends your co-worker running for fresh air or makes you the butt of endless lunch jokes. Fast Company gives a list of stinky lunches<\/a> they\u2019d like to ban from offices everywhere. If you can\u2019t live without some or all of these things, there\u2019s nothing stopping you from eating them outside!<\/p>\n

Chew slowly<\/b><\/h3>\n

There are few things more annoying than a noisy eater. Loud eaters are among the\u00a0ten most irritating co-workers people have to deal with every day. How do you know if you\u2019re a noisy eater? (Hint: Co-workers around you wear their headphones when you eat at your desk.)\u00a0Firstwefeast.com says<\/a>, \u201cThere\u2019s something unpleasantly intimate about hearing what goes on inside someone\u2019s\u00a0mouth, especially when it\u2019s forced on you without warning\u2014like an old college friend Instagramming his colonoscopy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Loud eating can be caused by a nasal condition or just bad etiquette. In both these cases, chew your food slowly to avoid being the orchestrator of a lunchtime cacophony\u2014 it will do you all sorts of good<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mind your (desk) manners<\/b><\/h3>\n

Leftovers are good but the spaces in your keyboard are not the ideal place for them. How you eat at your desk and clean up after that says a lot about how you eat at your dinner table. Spills and crumbs should be cleaned up and wrappers thrown away if you want to prevent bacteria from invading your cubicle.\u00a0Did you know that your desk collects 400 times more bacteria than a toilet<\/a>? The lesson to take away from this is to not eat in the restroom but to disinfect your desk more frequently.<\/p>\n

Turn off your phone<\/b><\/h3>\n

You already have your hands full (with the Panini you\u2019re eating) and the emails you\u2019re scraping through; you shouldn’t have to take calls too. If your job profile isn’t one that requires being on calls at all times, it is best you leave your phone out of sight.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve followed all the rules of eating at your desk, there\u2019s only one thing left to do. Step outside and get some fresh air.<\/p>\n

\n

Like this topic? Check out our related products:<\/h3>\n