Big question | Should you ban eating smelly food at work?

It’s a busy Wednesday, you’re suffering from that classic mid-week fatigue and to top it all off, Wendy from Finance is eating the reheated homemade vindaloo that she’s been bragging about since Monday.

Is it even possible to function with such pungent aromas taking your mind away from your work? Judging by the eight-foot radius of emptiness in an otherwise densely-packed office, we suspect that others are feeling the same about her culinary misadventures, too.

It’s a tale as old as the office place itself; professionals with nowhere to eat but their desk, or maybe those who prefer to work through lunch, are either collectively vindicated by an office culture of acceptance, or vilified by their colleagues for the quagmire of aromas that seem to stick around for hours.

Then again, if poor Wendy wants to eat her food at her desk whilst getting work done, isn’t it her right to do so? Ultimately, an unpleasant aroma isn’t going to hurt anyone, and even the most vocal HR department wouldn’t dream of telling people what food is and isn’t allowed for lunch. And it’s not just Wendy; a recent Glassdoor report found that 23% of the workforce prefer to eat at their desk, either to work though their break or simply as a place to relax with little effort.