Office workers troubled by "the smell of bread in the office"... Asked netizens about stories of not even breaking even

Netizens' Opinions on Company Breakfast
About 80% of Netizens Say "Bread Smell Is Acceptable"

Netizens showed mixed reactions to a post by an office worker who was troubled by a teammate eating bread every morning at work. On the 21st, a story from office worker A was posted on the workplace community Blind. A said they were troubled by the smell from teammate B, who buys bread every morning and eats it at the office, and asked for netizens' opinions.

This photo is for illustrative purposes only and is unrelated to the article content. [Photo source=Pixabay]

In particular, A complained that the smell became especially strong on days when B heated the bread in the office microwave after bringing it in the morning. A said, "If this happened occasionally, I would just let it go, but now they do it every morning," adding, "What should I say? Or should I just leave it alone?" A also attached a poll at the bottom of the post.

As of 10 a.m. on the 25th, about 3,000 people participated in the poll, with an overwhelming majority responding that "eating bread is acceptable." About 80% of voters agreed with eating breakfast at the office, while the remaining 20% opposed it. Most netizens reacted with comments such as, "What kind of bread smells that bad? Bread usually doesn’t smell that much," "Others don’t seem to mind much; just open a window and ventilate," "Isn’t it better than cigarette smoke?" and "We even eat gimbap here."

On the other hand, some said, "You should eat something that doesn’t smell; food smells in a shared workspace during work hours are disgusting," "It’s not even mealtime, so having food smells during work hours in a shared space can be unpleasant," and "Don’t touch the bread eating itself, but since the smell in the morning is a nuisance, tell them to eat it cold or eat something that doesn’t smell."

After seeing the poll results, A said, "I thought a lot after seeing the poll results. It’s not just bread, but the smell gets stronger when heated in the microwave," explaining, "There is a pantry, but it seems they eat bread at their desk while working." A added, "I plan to buy a cup of coffee soon and talk with the employee."

46.3% of South Korea’s Economically Active Population Skips Breakfast

On the 8th, as the morning temperature dropped below freezing bringing the 'Kkotsem Chuwi' cold snap, office workers in thick coats are heading to work at the Gwanghwamun intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@]

Among South Koreans, 34% do not eat breakfast, and for those in their 20s, the rate approaches 60%. According to the '2022 National Health Statistics' released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on January 16, the breakfast skipping rate in South Korea was 34%. After a slight decrease from 22.6% in 2013 to 22.2% in 2014, the breakfast skipping rate has steadily increased, surpassing 30% since 2019. Over the past decade, the breakfast skipping rate increased by 11.4 percentage points (p). By gender, the breakfast skipping rate was slightly higher among men at 35.2% compared to 32.8% for women.

By age group, 59.2% of those aged 19 to 29 skipped breakfast, followed by 41.9% of those aged 30 to 49, 37.7% of those aged 12 to 18, 20.4% of those aged 50 to 64, 14.2% of those aged 6 to 11, 7.9% of those aged 3 to 5, 6.4% of those aged 65 and older, and 2% of those aged 1 to 2. Among these, 46.3% of those aged 12 to 49, who are school-age or economically active, skip breakfast.