Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does this really upset you enough to post about? I would be highly annoyed if I were asked to bring anything for a pot luck at work. Luckily, my employer isn’t cheap and pay to cater events.

+100, this! Post COVID no employer should allow employees to host potlucks.

+1

Potlucks, and those stupid "bonding" activities. I just want to work, not pretend we are buddies.

I hate "bonding activities" and work potlucks with a firey burning passion.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do these potlucks work?

Are they mandatory,?

Can you opt out of bringing and eating food?

Are you on the clock?

I have no respect for snooty rich people sneering at people in less fancy jobs who might enjoy some PAID time for a social event with their colleagues.

I am not a "snooty rich person" I am a fed who is tired of being pressured to bring in food for the potlucks.

It is not mandatory, but the mean girl / woman clique keeps these going, and it's usually best not to get on their bad side. Most men don't participate at all and that is accepted. Not so much for women.

I / we get no extra time off for these potlucks, they just eat up my lunch break. The mean girls who organize these do get to take time from work to do all this however.

I think you'll be amazed at how much people won't care if you stop participating. I'm a woman, have never brought food, used to pop in to say a quick hello and eventually just didn't go to anything and people didn't care. Sometimes they'd say "there's cake in the conference room!" and I'd say "cool, thanks!" and just not go. If they actually do pressure or ask you, you can always say your doctor has advised you to limit your diet and it makes you feel bad seeing food you can't eat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate work potlucks and am glad they’ve gone by the wayside.

But they haven’t.

If any of you work with me, please speak up. It seems that everybody is on board with them which is why we keep having them. We have one on almost every level from team of 10 up to the entire department of 70 people.

I haven’t attended any since Covid. But it may be harder to come up with convenient l reasons to be out if office or leave early.

TBH, I worked at an organization with ~80 people on staff and a core group of older Black women loved, loved, loved the potlucks. They were all very nice so I dutifully signed up to make desserts. I worked there for nearly a decade and they were still going strong when I left.

OP's just mad she doesn't get to show off her baking skills and be the center of attention at the pot luck.

What's rude is expecting people to cook!

I like to cook, but I don't like to bring my homemade food to a group of work colleagues.

Sometimes I cook, sometimes not. It depends on my schedule. I certain do not judge other people's foods.

Anonymous wrote:How do these potlucks work?

Are they mandatory,?

Can you opt out of bringing and eating food?

Are you on the clock?

I have no respect for snooty rich people sneering at people in less fancy jobs who might enjoy some PAID time for a social event with their colleagues.

I am not a "snooty rich person" I am a fed who is tired of being pressured to bring in food for the potlucks.

It is not mandatory, but the mean girl / woman clique keeps these going, and it's usually best not to get on their bad side. Most men don't participate at all and that is accepted. Not so much for women.

I / we get no extra time off for these potlucks, they just eat up my lunch break. The mean girls who organize these do get to take time from work to do all this however.

How do these potlucks work?

Are they mandatory,?

Can you opt out of bringing and eating food?

Are you on the clock?

I have no respect for snooty rich people sneering at people in less fancy jobs who might enjoy some PAID time for a social event with their colleagues.

If I have not been to someone's home, I will not eat their potluck food. No thanks. You sound mean OP. If the store cookie person was male, you would have cheered him for bringing something.

Anonymous wrote:Does this really upset you enough to post about? I would be highly annoyed if I were asked to bring anything for a pot luck at work. Luckily, my employer isn’t cheap and pay to cater events.

Plus 1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And brings 2 packs of those butter/ shortbread ring cookies that usually sell for 2 for $3 in grocery stores. Is that tacky?

I don't think it's "tacky." Lazy, maybe, but I don't blame anyone for trying to minimize their effort on work events like this. Like we all don't have enough to do.

What's "tacky" is 1. hosting a work potluck in the first place and making people feel obligated to participate and 2. caring about what people bring

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the person who always signs up for desserts, and brings something store-bought. I do it because I hate to cook, and my evenings are busy anyway carting my kids to their activities. I would much rather give money towards a catered lunch.

And you are the person we hate. If you hate to cook, which I get - bring something else store-bought that is actually decent like a good dip or premade salad. Or drinks! Don't block the creation of a possibly yummy and decadent homemade dessert out of your sheer laziness.

Who's "we"? Seriously, you think others are on board with your hate? Leave people alone. And FYI there's nothing more disgusting than store-bought dip. Gross. I don't hate people for having bad taste in food though....

No, "we" don't "hate to cook."

We have other things to do with our time off work besides shop to take things to work, or cook food for other people at work. If you make us participate in your potluck, for people who either love potlucks or people who don't have much else to do, we will bring the cheapest easiest thing we can get away with.

We are not obligated to buy our coworkers food. We are living in a large urban area (DC) where it is a pain to do anything with all the traffic, much less prepare optional food for work and then carry that food into work. This is not small town USA where it is easy to buy and prepare these things during and after your ten minute commute to work. ( I used to live in small town USA.)

I am currently not paid enough in the DC area to buy food for other people to eat for workplaces which are too cheap or too broke to provide food for staff.

Anonymous wrote:Tacky is to call the bag of assembly line cookies "dessert" and not be more specific, so it blocks out other people bringing better dessert.

+1

Pre-fill the sheet with dessert options


1 - homemade cookies
2 - homemade brownies
3 - homemade cake or pie
4 - other store-bought

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am the person who always signs up for desserts, and brings something store-bought. I do it because I hate to cook, and my evenings are busy anyway carting my kids to their activities. I would much rather give money towards a catered lunch.

And you are the person we hate. If you hate to cook, which I get - bring something else store-bought that is actually decent like a good dip or premade salad. Or drinks! Don't block the creation of a possibly yummy and decadent homemade dessert out of your sheer laziness.

Who's "we"? Seriously, you think others are on board with your hate? Leave people alone. And FYI there's nothing more disgusting than store-bought dip. Gross. I don't hate people for having bad taste in food though....

OP, I think this is her subtle protest to potlucks.

Get the hint.

Anonymous wrote:I hate work potlucks and am glad they’ve gone by the wayside.

But they haven’t.

If any of you work with me, please speak up. It seems that everybody is on board with them which is why we keep having them. We have one on almost every level from team of 10 up to the entire department of 70 people.

I haven’t attended any since Covid. But it may be harder to come up with convenient l reasons to be out if office or leave early.