S/O For those that said the keurig is fair game in the break room...

[Anonymous 5]

I've stayed on communal/hostel type hotels before with a shared refrigerator, the food that other people bought did not belong to me

[Anonymous 6]

Personal use items don't belong in the community break room. It either goes in their personal office or they can bring a thermos from home.

[MonkeySeeMonkeyDo]

If it's just for you then is doesn't belong in a shared break room. If you think keeping kosher is so important then keep the appliance IN YOUR OFFICE. It's wrong and unfair to put something in a mutually used space then bitch that other people cannot use it. Mutual space = everyone can share it.

Such a childish mentality, Damn near preschool@everyone can share it. Just leave other people's shit alone

So all these people that scream SHARE, do they share their home? Their car? Their bank account?

I’ve never understand the logic behind sharing. I was taught that my things were my things. I could share if I wanted but I also wasn’t forced to share either.

[sarah824]

If the appliance belongs to someone else and they have asked that no one else use it then I am not going to use it. I don't understand why this is such a hard concept for others to grasp...

It is not yours. They do not want you to use it. Do not use it. Simple.

[CandTmom]

I'm glad my employer wouldn't allow personal appliances in our break room. I don't think people should use other people's stuff. I also think people shouldn't keep personal stuff in a shared area. Where do you draw the line? Is the break room going to have 50 microwaves and coffee machines?

[Traci_Momof2]

If it's just for you then is doesn't belong in a shared break room. If you think keeping kosher is so important then keep the appliance IN YOUR OFFICE. It's wrong and unfair to put something in a mutually used space then bitch that other people cannot use it. Mutual space = everyone can share it.

Such a childish mentality, Damn near preschool@everyone can share it. Just leave other people's shit alone

So all these people that scream SHARE, do they share their home? Their car? Their bank account?

I’ve never understand the logic behind sharing. I was taught that my things were my things. I could share if I wanted but I also wasn’t forced to share either.

And when I was little I remember sharing being drilled into our brains. At school, when playing with friends, when hanging with cousins, etc. Sharing of toys and other things was expected and enforced. Obviously we were also taught not to steal, but the sharing concept is what stands out in my mind when I think of my childhood and I bet most from my generation would remember it the same way.

Maybe that's why we all expect to share things in a communal workspace now.

[Anonymous 4]

I noticed that. Religious and medical reasons are a bit different. But I would hope that he at least talked with people ahead of time and said "Hey, here's why I need this to be for my use only. I'm not just being a dick about it." It's easier to be gracious about accommodating odd requests when the person asks ahead of time instead of just expects everyone to follow their rules.

It's like when we had a temp in our area who apparently had allergic reactions to microwave popcorn. So she talked to management before she started and they sent out a memo ahead of time asking that no one make microwave popcorn in our area. They offered that we could go to a different floor and make it and bring it back to our desks. No one had issues complying.

The difference with Keurig lady is that she said nothing ahead of time (as far as we know). She just plopped it out there and expected no one to touch it and then got all upset when people did.

Well then I guess the woman could always just say she is allergic to vanilla and can't take the chance of someone using a vanilla pod. Frankly that's what she should do if she doesn't want others using it. Problem would be solved!

But she didn't, and if she brought it up now it would look highly suspicious.

Let's take the religion out of the microwave thing. I currently work in a very small office. 3 of us total and there is not a lot of space for anything. In one corner, the owner has provided a fridge that stands 3 feet tall and a microwave on top of that. Zero counters at all, this is just in a corner of the office space. On top of the microwave is things like plates and plastic utensils and such. The plates are brought in by my coworker and used by anyone. The utensils are brought in by me and used by anyone. But lets tweak it and say there was no microwave. And lets say I feel like I just have to have a microwave at work to heat up my soup. So I bring in a microwave and put it in that space but tell the other two people "I'm going to store this here but this is just for me to use. You two can't use it." Tell me that wouldn't be the epitome of rude on my part. Tell me that if I posted a story like that on here that I wouldn't get reamed up one side and down the other for taking up valuable space and being rude to my coworkers.

See how that works? It really comes down to the space. Every office I've worked in, there is not an abundance of space. And the OP of that other post didn't say so at the beginning but did say in a comment that there is not a lot of space at her work. So it's incredibly rude to bring in a personal item, take up the employer's space, and tell everyone else not to use it. So many people on these threads are saying it's rude to use other people's stuff. I say it's equally rude to use other people's space for your own personal stuff.

That is the problem we'd have. We don't have our own offices and very little space. I think it depends on the culture of the place. In my office if it's left out it's fair game with the exception of electronics. Food is a different story. But we share everything. If someone said this is just for me that's fine but good luck finding a place for it. It better be a tiny microwave.
I wonder- and that's for mom to answer- if the rest of the employees simply covered their food wouldn't that be suitable?

[Anonymous 7]

First of all, I think an accommodation for religious reasons is different than simply not wanting to share. That said, I wouldn't use anyone's personal appliance if I knew they didn't want to share it.

But people make mistakes and aren't always paying attention. At my last workplace, there were so many people coming and going that it would have been nearly impossible to keep something like a kosher microwave in the break room without other people accidentally using it. If it was really important that others not use it, it would have to be kept somewhere else.

[Valentina327]

I just can’t imagine using someone else’s things, but I was taught as a child that I didn’t have to share. My things were mine.

What happens when someone breaks the kurieg? Are they going to replace it? Or expect the person who owns it to replace it?

Exactly. That's why I wouldn't use it knowing that they didn't want it used. If it broke while I was using it, I'd feel awful.

[Valentina327]

If it's just for you then is doesn't belong in a shared break room. If you think keeping kosher is so important then keep the appliance IN YOUR OFFICE. It's wrong and unfair to put something in a mutually used space then bitch that other people cannot use it. Mutual space = everyone can share it.

These aren't 2 year olds lacking impulse control. These are adults who should be mature enough to know that you don't help yourself to other people's things that they've worked to purchase, simply because they're visible. That's entitlement. I know that's a difficult concept to some, with the socialists being so pervasive in our government today.