Office Pantry Etiquette: 5 Things You Should Never Do!

Be it in a small office or a big one, almost all offices have a pantry. This area is very important to be provided by the employer because it will be the main place where staff prepare their food for lunch, or other sustenance to help them go through the day while working.

The pantry will act as a public space for all the employees, thus its cleanliness has to be maintained to ensure that the pantry can be useful and provide comfort for all employees. Not only that, having a clean pantry will also help to increase the productivity of the employee as well as make sure that everyone is in good health.

Because the pantry is where we prepare food, if the cleanliness of the pantry is not well maintained -it will be very susceptible to being a place for bacteria to grow. Though your company probably has hired an office lady service to clean the pantry, because the pantry is a public place -therefore it must be maintained together by every employee who uses the pantry regularly.

Here are some unwritten rules that you should never do in the office pantry, to ensure the comfort of all.

Putting food too long in the refrigerator

Office pantry might provide you with a couple of electronic appliances such as a microwave, kettle, and refrigerator. The refrigerator will be very useful for you to be able to store your food, before heating it in the microwave. With the availability of these electronic appliances, you will get a lot of benefits. It can help you to save time and money from having to go out for lunch.

But you have to also be mindful when you use electronic devices in your office, including the refrigerator. When you put food in the refrigerator, make sure that you never leave it for too long. It’s best if you can finish it all within 1 or 2 days at the very least. If you leave the food for too long and end up forgetting about it -it can eventually rot and make the refrigerator as well as all other food stored there smell bad. The last thing your co-workers want is to find that their food is no longer fresh because of your food that has gone bad.

Taking too much place inside the refrigerator

One way to ensure that you don’t have to face the first problem is by making sure that you only store food that you will immediately eat. It will also help you to save some space for your coworkers in the fridge. Remember that the refrigerator will not be used only by you. Your other coworkers will also store their food there. So everyone should be considerate of the spacing, to ensure that everyone can have the same amount of space to put their food

What you can do is only store things that are essential, food that needs to be at a cold temperature. Other food such as snacks that do not need to be cool before you consume, can be kept in the kitchen drawer.

Do not use the microwave to heat-up pungent-smelling food

If you have pungent-smelling foods such as fish, you should not eat these dishes in the office -let alone heat them in the office microwave. This food tends to leave an unpleasant odor, and it can spread throughout your workspace. This pungent odor could disturb your co-worker. Thus why it is recommended to never bring this kind of food to your office.

Not cleaning up after your mess

Leaving a mess behind you at the office pantry is unacceptable. Remember it is not your home, it is a public space. Whether you’ve made your meal or brewed some coffee, you should always cleaned-up immediately after. Don’t postpone it or say that you will clean up after you finish your work -it is a big no!

Nobody wants to enter the office kitchen and find used food packaging laying around the kitchen counter, or find someone’s lunch leftovers clogging the sink. You don’t want this to happen to you, that is why you should also never do this in the first place!

What you can do to ensure the cleanliness of the pantry after you use it, are by doing these:

Throw trash on the trashcan, and never leave used food packaging on the kitchen counter.
Wipe the kitchen counter with a cleaning cloth if there is any food splatter from your meal.
Never throw your food or other things into the kitchen sink. This can impact everyone (including you) if it gets clogged.

Taking food that isn’t yours

Though that food looks delicious or does not have a name on it -does not mean that it is yours to take. Taking your coworker’s food is the ultimate way to leave a bad impression or worse, starting an office conflict!

The office pantry is a very useful area for all. Because of its usefulness, it becomes one of the most used areas in the office. Thus, implementing and following the pantry etiquette is important to ensure that every coworker is comfortable when using the shared space.