What’s the nastiest thing about any office? I bet the top ten office annoyances would definitely include coworkers stealing your food from the kitchen fridge. You can find such folks in literally any company – but what do you do if this unpleasant subject turns out to be your immediate manager?

The user u/Mysterious-Mud4122, the author of the story we’re going to tell you today, also faced this annoying phenomenon and, having realized her petty revenge plan, now fears for her own job – after all, her boss, who turned out to be the food thief, ended up in the hospital with diarrhea…

More info: Reddit

The author of the post is an office worker and recently faced a very unpleasant situation – one of her colleagues regularly stole her food from the fridge

Image credits: Mikhail Nilov / Pexels (not the actual photo)

The woman first wanted to complain to HR and check the security camera data, but then decided to punish the thief herself

Image credits: Mysterious-Mud4122

Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)

So she spread a rumor about herself having stomach issues, then bought laxatives and put them in her food

Image credits: Mysterious-Mud4122

Image credits: Camandona / Freepik (not the actual photo)

It turned out that the thief was her own manager – and he ended up in hospital with diarrhea

Image credits: Mysterious-Mud4122

Now the author’s happiness is actually marred by only one thing as she’s afraid of the manager’s possible revenge

So, the beginning of this foul-smelling story was laid recently, when the Original Poster (OP), a 20-year-old woman, began to lose her food from the refrigerator in the office kitchen. Typical office drama – the thief not only ate everything clean but also left a dirty empty container inside the fridge. Which, you must admit, is doubly offensive.

Our heroine tried to track down the culprit, but to no avail. And so, she came up with a plan that, if successfully implemented, would not only expose the food thief but would also become a petty revenge plan. The woman bought a laxative at the pharmacy, made an appointment at the doctor – so that she could have an alibi – and then added this medicine to her container of food.

The hapless food lover was caught – the container was empty again, and our heroine experienced something like a little dark happiness. However, the gloating gave way to anxiety – because the next day she learned that her manager was hospitalized with diarrhea.

No, our heroine was not afraid for the health of the thief – after all, she added a safe dose of medicine. So the most that threatened the unlucky gourmet was a few days of stomach pain. But now the author is afraid that her unwitting victim will find out why he ended up in the hospital and will try to take revenge.

On the one hand, the original poster notes, she feels deeply satisfied that she was avenged. On the other hand, what if this situation actually costs her her job? So the woman decided to ask people online for some advice and support.

Image credits: user18526052 / Freepik (not the actual photo)

Laxatives are a great way to solve certain problems with gastrointestinal diseases, but like almost all meds, they can be harmful if overused. For example, as the Monte Nido Rosewood Clinic website states, overuse of laxatives can lead to electrolyte disturbances, dehydration and mineral deficiencies.

However, all this applies more to the long-term use of laxatives for other improper purposes – for example, some people mistakenly and wrongly take this category of meds for weight loss. But the original poster wrote that she put a safe dose in her food, so this option is actually excluded.

As for combating food theft in the office, there are, first of all, more familiar means than obvious sitcom tricks. For example, the Credit Union Times offers five options for employees to choose from:

1. Camouflage your food.
2. Label your food.
3. Adulterate your food (this is partly what our heroine did).
4. Don’t put your lunch in the fridge.
5. Store your food in a more public space.

Finally, you can complain to HR or your immediate higher-ups. But in the author’s case, this wouldn’t have worked – for an obvious reason. “Often this is a simple mistake and it may not be necessary to involve HR. But if this keeps happening, employees should raise the issue with their employer, who can consider the best course of action,” Metro quotes Kate Palmer, an HR advice and consultancy director at Peninsula.

By the way, the original poster admitted that she first wanted to discuss this issue with HR too. But then she decided to take the punishing sword of retribution into her own hands. However, commenters were quick to reassure the OP, stating that it’s unlikely that the aggrieved manager will put two non-obvious facts together.

In any case, this lesson should help wean the hapless thief from the habit of tasting someone else’s food, the responders are quite sure. “I bet he won’t steal another lunch again. I love that for him,” one of the people in the comments aptly wrote. And what do you, our dear readers, think about this tale? Have you ever encountered something similar at work as well?

People in the comments gave the woman a huge shoutout for being witty and inventive and tried to reassure her about the possible consequences

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