Office eating etiquette has sparked debate for many years, but one woman has called for a specific lunch choice to be banned from workplaces entirely.
She confronted her colleague for eating the dish, but the diner in question doesn't believe she's in the wrong as the smell wasn't reaching any of the public spaces.
And after taking offence to her co-workers tuna dish, she's said that fish shouldn't be allowed in any office spaces due to the smell that it can often cause.
The Mirror reports that in a post to Reddit, the scolded worker explained why she didn't see any problem with the lunch that she'd brought in.
Recalling the exchange, she wrote: "One of the newer employees at my work confronted me recently for bringing the tuna salad to work because she can smell it when she enters my office apparently. To be clear the smell doesn't waft into the public spaces, but when she's dropping off papers or telling me something she can smell it."
The diner noted that she opts for tuna for medical reasons. "I have recently started a higher protein and IBS sensitive diet, so I have had to make a lot of changes with my lifestyle. I've turned to fish as a main source of food, and canned tuna is one thing I enjoy a lot."
She added: "When I take it to work I prepare it beforehand, so I'm not opening the can at work or anything, just eating it out of Tupperware."
Unfortunately, her disgusted co-worker struggled to see her side of the story, even after sharing her dilemma. "I explained to her my diet changed and apologized for the smell but told her I wouldn't be changing my diet again right now as my stomach has a hard time adjusting to new food routines and this one has finally started working.
"She got pretty upset and told me that it was common office sense not to bring fish," her post outlined.
"I feel bad that she doesn't like the smell but I really just need to keep with my routine. Am I the a****e?" the worker concluded.
In response, commenters were quick to debate office etiquette, but several were on the diner's side.
One person claimed: "Tuna salad is a common lunch and sometimes food has smells, that's just how it is. As long as you are being reasonable (sounds like you are) then there shouldn't be an issue here."
A second thought: "Common space vs office space is the denominator."
However, another said: "Even eating cold tuna in a common lunch space should still be ok. Just because one person is uncomfortable doesn't mean no one should be allowed to eat tuna."
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