#50 Unraveling the Mysteries of the Office Kitchen: HR's Ultimate Challenge

Navigating the office kitchen, HR's ultimate challenge: a comical journey through fridge politics, microwave etiquette, tea rounds, and the mystery of disappearing cutlery.

We’ve reached edition #50! I can’t really believe I’ve managed to sneeze out 50 newsletters (of varying quality and humour) and many of you still read it! This one was a lot of fun to write, so I hope you enjoy it. This edition, I’m also switching on subscriptions. Don’t worry, you’ll still get it every week. I’m not planning on putting the weekly newsletter behind a paywall EVER, so you’ll still get to enjoy my ramblings. If you really enjoy them, perhaps you’d consider a subscription? Then one day I may be able to live my dream of sitting around in my pyjamas watching episodes of X-Files in between writing newsletters?

---

From the desk of the Human Resources Department, we've managed our fair share of unusual requests, tricky situations and, dare we say, office kerfuffles. We've navigated the stormy seas of annual leave allocation, deftly traversed the tricky terrain of performance reviews, and expertly orchestrated the symphony that is onboarding. But there remains one realm, one domain, that continues to baffle even the most seasoned amongst us. This, dear colleagues, is the enigma of the office kitchen.

The office kitchen, you see, is a microcosm of our workplace culture. It's a place where all hierarchy dissolves, and the CEO stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the intern, both clutching their respective mugs, contemplating whether to opt for the robust English Breakfast tea or the mysteriously labelled ‘artisan blend’ someone brought back from their holidays.

The bane of kitchen appliances

The focal point of many a dispute, the office refrigerator, is the embodiment of passive-aggressive post-it notes. Whose yoghurt is this? Why has this sandwich been here since the Norman Conquest? Who dares to consume another's clearly labelled milk? As an HR professional, one learns rather quickly that the office fridge is less about food storage and more about a complex social experiment with ever-changing variables.

The People Post is a free newsletter, but if you like my work and want support my X-Files habit, you can do so here. I am truly humbled by your support.

Then there’s the unspoken 'Microwave Etiquette.' Reheating last night’s fish curry? Be prepared to face the collective wrath of your colleagues who are now victims of an olfactory onslaught. And let’s not even get started on the mysterious splatter that seems to coat the microwave's insides after someone's soup has made an ill-fated attempt to escape its container.

Don’t even get us started on the kettle. The unwritten rule dictates that if you empty it, you fill it. But alas, how many times have we found ourselves facing an empty kettle, its hollow echo a mocking testament to a colleague's disregard for this sacred law? The kettle, dear friends, is a stark reminder that chaos is but an empty vessel away.

Biscuits? Kettles of fish? You mother?

The biscuit tin, once brimming with an assortment of digestives, custard creams, and the occasional Jammie Dodger, now sits forlornly in the corner, harbouring nothing but a few crumbs and the shattered dreams of the 11 o'clock tea brigade. An empty biscuit tin is a commentary on our shared responsibility. It's a silent cry, a plea, for each of us to do our bit to sustain the collective morale.

Tea rounds are another kettle of fish entirely. The weight of responsibility when it’s your turn to brew up is palpable. One lump or two? Milk before water, or after? What might seem like trivial decisions are, in fact, deeply ingrained preferences that can make or break relationships. For the uninitiated, the words "your turn to make the tea" are loaded with pressure.

Then, of course, there are the washing up wars. Despite repeated pleas, signs, and the occasional stern email, a trail of dirty mugs, plates, and cutlery somehow always find their way back to the sink. It's as if they are homing pigeons, instinctively navigating their way back to their place of origin. The phrase "your mother doesn't work here" has never rung truer.

Let's not forget about the mysterious disappearance of cutlery, a phenomenon that continues to baffle us all. One day there's a full set of forks, and the next, you're eating your pasta salad with a spoon. Is there a cutlery thief among us? Or perhaps a portal to another dimension located conveniently in our office drawer? The world may never know. As HR, we're often left playing the detective, on a never-ending quest to reunite lost cutlery with its rightful drawer.

HR are the real MVPs

Navigating the politics of the office kitchen is no small feat. It's a complex dance, a delicate balancing act that requires understanding, patience, and a healthy dose of humour. It's a social contract, written in tea stains and biscuit crumbs, that binds us all. And as HR, we are not just the mediators but also the custodians of this sacred social space. We must lead by example, ensuring we're the first to top up the biscuit tin or refill the kettle, making sure we take the time to scrub those stubborn tea stains from the mugs. After all, how can we expect others to follow the rules if we don't adhere to them ourselves?

You see, the office kitchen is more than just a place to make a cuppa or grab a quick bite. It's a battleground of ideas and a marketplace of negotiation. It's a place where bonds are formed over shared recipes and collective groans about that one person who never cleans up after themselves. It's a testament to our shared humanity and a reminder that we're all in this together.

The office kitchen is a testament to our shared humanity and a reminder that we're all in this together.

Being in HR is about understanding people, about nurturing a culture that fosters respect, empathy, and a sense of community. And nowhere is this more apparent than in the humble office kitchen. Despite the occasional dispute over missing lunchboxes or the never-ending saga of the 'Great Cutlery Mystery,' the office kitchen remains a beacon of unity amidst the chaos of work.

So, the next time you step into the office kitchen, remember, you're not just making a cup of tea, you're contributing to a grand social experiment, a tale as old as the office itself. You're a part of a story, a narrative that unfolds with every brew, every biscuit dunked, and every passive-aggressive note left on the fridge. And as HR, we're here to ensure that this story, no matter how chaotic, always has a touch of humour, a dash of empathy, and a whole lot of heart.