Today I smelled the sweet smell of popcorn and thought gee, I would like to partake in some. So, I opened my desk drawer and pulled out some of the my favorite buttery popcorn to pop. While walking back from the microwave a few people asked if they could have some and of course I said yes. While passing another desk, a small voice asked me if I had checked before making the popcorn; I said “why the heck would I ask, the microwave is free for use”. A little later an e-mail was sent out to the entire office about smelly food. I kind of mocked the e-mail.
On the way home I was thinking about the events. When I got home I Google’d the the Popcorn in the Office question that I had. Apparently I was wrong.
It turns out that popcorn in the office is bad etiquette as the smell often bothers people. While the smell may be enticing for some of us; for others it can be very unpleasant. The smell of popcorn can linger for up to an hour depending on ventilation and that can be very unpleasant. Everyone is entitled to a clean work environment which includes smells ( not just popcorn ).
My advice to everyone, think about the smells and other offensive things you may bring into the office. It may be not so nice for the people around you.
In short – I offer my apologies to all the people in all of the offices that I had ever worked. I did not know that the smell of popcorn was possibly offensive as well as poor etiquette.