Food kept going missing from the office fridge, so I stopped acting like it was some unsolved mystery and decided to test it myself.
Instead of labeling my stuff like everyone always suggests, I left a container in there with a note that said, “Workplace Baking Day Shared treats, help yourself :)” so it looked like I was just being nice. What no one knew was that the cookies inside had been sitting in my pantry for months past their date. My thinking was, if someone’s bold enough to take random food, they probably aren’t too concerned about where it came from.
By lunchtime, half the container was gone and not a single person said anything. So I dropped a message in the group chat asking who tried the “special batch” I left out. Suddenly it got quiet, and one coworker made a quick trip to the bathroom.
A little later, someone asked if the cookies were supposed to taste “off.” I told them expiration dates aren’t a crime, and if you’re comfortable helping yourself to food that wasn’t yours, you should be ready for whatever comes with it.
HR ended up calling me in, saying I “set a trap.” I told them I didn’t make anyone take anything. I just put food in a shared fridge with a friendly note. If grown adults can’t resist grabbing whatever’s free, I’m not sure how that’s my responsibility
Food kept going missing
