In pursuit of Health, Wealth and Happiness

Birdie85

Hmmm, this is why my snack drawer is kept secret from the people I work with! In my old office I had a snack drawer but noticed that open packs of sweets would somehow magically deplete over night, I'd have an almost full bag of Minstrels and the next morning there'd be 2 left! :eek: It was the thieving cleaners who'd discovered my stash and were helping themselves to nighttime treats! :eek: I was NOT happy, I'd never worried about locking my drawers or anything since we worked in a limited access office and there'd never been a safety issue... but after that I had to lock my drawers every night and if we had a box of chocolates or biscuits out for everyone we had to make sure they were locked away on an evening or they'd all get eaten too. Bit sad that, isn't it?!

Tete_en_l'Air

It's terrible! I sit gobsmacked as my boss helps herself to my colleague's tissues from the box on her desk whenever she's not there - she doesn't seem bothered what I or other colleague will think. Poor tissue-colleague must think the boxes are shrinking. Apparently if I'm not here she will go in my drawer for my calculator too - it makes me so angry. Luckily I don't keep treats in my drawers (often) as I'd eat them all in one go

Kittikins

Mmmmm, snacks My colleague and I have a not so secret biscuit tin in our filing cabinet, but luckily it doesn't get raided too often - but leave anything in the staff room and it goes! Blooming teachers

Can I please have a mini-rant?!? Blooming Student Finance, they still can't get their stupid heads around the fact an old bag like me can have had 2 surnames in my life and are now insisting that I send in my passport despite it being in a surname they don't want to use....and breathe!

Birdie85

I guess the snack drawer theory only works if you do have some self control!

I get annoyed by people helping themselves to things like tissues and stationery too! I'm organised and have things like scissors, stapler, calculator, sellotape etc (they're all office-issue so it's not like it's difficult to get hold of them!) but other people seem to think that my desk has a sign saying 'Help yourself!', some ask if they can borrow something as they're already picking up the item and I feel like saying 'No! Pi55 off and get your own!'. My stapler once ran out on a man who was using it so I made him go to the cupboard and refill it for me. He thought I was joking. I wasn't!

Tete_en_l'Air

Birdie85 wrote: »

I guess the snack drawer theory only works if you do have some self control!

Yeah, I don't.

I'm glad it's not just me who feels protective of her stationery My boss always borrows my stapler but takes it over to her desk to use it and doesn't bring it back, so I have to go over to her like "Can I just get my stapler please?" !!! I thought it was just my only-child-I-hate-sharing issues

Wah Kitty so annoying! At least that's one good thing about not being married and being back at the same home address I was when I was 17 and applying the first time Hope you get sorted soon.

Mara_uk7

Have experienced the office sundry borrowers myself many times... Last time, I went to the stationery cupboard, loaded up a wee box with everything, and dumped it on said colleagues desk ... smiled sweetly and said here, you go, this will save your old legs crossing the room to borrow mine ! At least she had the grace to look ashamed

Tete_en_l'Air

Haha - eek i wouldn't have the audacity to do that Mara but I did find a spare holepunch and placed it on her desk when she wasn't in - she's so scatty I doubt she even noticed/wondered where it came from/remembered she didn't have one before. Sadly there's a lack of certain stationery items around here - if it were my responsibility to order them we'd have no problem but it's not unfortunately.

Birdie85

Not just you, I hate sharing too! Well, not so much the sharing, but the *risks* associated with it i.e. stuff not coming back (I've lost count of how many Post-It pads have disappeared off my desk). People are just lazy; if they use scissors 3 times a week why don't they just ask the stationery lady to order them a pair? It's not difficult, how do they think I got mine in the first place?!

I like your approach Mara! Back in my old job I was the stationery lady for a while (Oooh I loved that! I'd spend ages looking through the catalogue and I had so much power to order anything!!! ) so if someone was annoying me with requests to borrow things I'd just order them one and be done with it.

starnac

The upside to working from home. No colleagues to pinch *ahem* borrow your stuff

Dinah93

Just saw this Tete and thought of you. Hopefully good news for a full time job after training.