Never Eat These Foods at Work If You Want Your Co-Workers to Keep Making Eye Contact with You

There are unspoken rules in every workplace: don’t reply-all, don’t microwave fish, and for the love of HR, stop chewing like you're starring in a celery commercial.

Yes, office etiquette goes beyond not stealing someone’s yogurt from the communal fridge. According to an etiquette expert (bless them), what you eat at work can instantly put you on your colleagues’ “absolutely not” list.

So, if you’d prefer your co-workers to like you—or at least not draft a passive-aggressive Slack message about you—maybe skip the following lunch offenders:

• Tuna or salmon (a.k.a. betrayal in a Tupperware)
• Egg-based anything (omelette? More like olé-MY-GOD-what-is-that-smell)
• Garlicky meals (great for warding off vampires, not so great for Karen in Accounting)
• Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli (congrats, you've brought the entire brassica family to the office… and yes, they all smell like hot compost)

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If giving up your beloved leftover salmon is not an option, the expert suggests taking your lunch outside, such as to a bench or the break room, if it’s far enough away from people trying to survive the 2 p.m. spreadsheet slog.

And don’t think you're off the hook just because your lunch smells fine. Sound matters too! Soups, chips, raw veggies, crackers, and those snack wrappers that sound like you're wrestling a raccoon?

Also on the "maybe not" list. If your lunch could be heard or smelled from three cubicles away, it’s time to re-evaluate.

Bottom line? If your food choice makes people silently rage while putting in their noise-cancelling earbuds, it might be time to switch it up. Save the stinky stuff for dinner and keep the office a judgment-free, nose-friendly zone.

Unless your goal is to be that co-worker. Then by all means, reheat that tuna casserole and slurp away.