Establishing guidelines for caring for a mutually shared space is key, especially in professional environments. Creating office cafeteria rules and etiquette guidelines can keep your staff on the same page while promoting respect, inclusivity, and ensuring maintained cleanliness. Facilitating good etiquette in the office cafeteria leaves little room for inconsistencies or spats, leading to a more harmonious workplace.
You don’t have to make rules that feel oppressive or micromanaging either; in fact, most rules we mention here will feel like common sense. The point is to remind everyone to be aware and encourage communal participation. We’ll go over some of the basic rules you should consider using when giving your staff a guide to taking care of your office cafeteria (and in turn, each other).
Office Cafeteria Rules and Etiquette
Keep It Clean – A Shared Responsibility
Cleanliness rules for your office cafeteria should sound fairly common sense. When employees are done eating and ready to go back to work, they should take a look around for any trash or spills. Disposing of trash and recycling appropriately should be a priority. Basic cleaning supplies should be provided for staff to clean up any spills or crumbs from their meal as well.
Another office cafeteria hygiene tip is to have your staff label and date their food before putting it away or keeping it in the fridge. This avoids confusion on who’s food is who, and dating the food helps employees take responsibility for old food they need to toss out.
Nobody should have to be responsible for someone else’s mess. It’s annoying to clean up your coworker’s spilled or rotten food, and fridge cleanout days can be frustrating and end in wasted food. All of these rules help prevent the sometimes irritating cafeteria shuffle many office cafeterias go through.
Be Mindful of Shared Spaces and Equipment
Engaging in respectful cafeteria behavior means respecting everyone’s time constraints. There should be guidelines on how long you should ideally spend using coffee machines, microwaves, or other appliances to avoid hogging. If the cafeteria isn’t very full, it’s okay to spend a little extra time doing things, but if employees notice the cafeteria is busy, they should be reminded that others need to eat lunch as well.
Additionally, any cutlery, silverware, trays, or dishes should be returned to their assigned area. It’s helpful to have reminders on trash cans to not throw away reusable items as well, as accidents do happen. Tables and chairs should be respected as should seating arrangements. Employees should pay attention to where they’ve moved a chair or table from and put them back when they’re done. Saving tables for long periods of time is also rude when people have limited time to enjoy their lunch. Keeping things orderly is a big part of the office cafeteria’s shared space etiquette as it prevents things from spiraling into chaos.
Lunch can be the perfect time to take a break and socialize or relax, but it’s still important to create those reminders so everyone can enjoy their time. Creating rules and reminders helps people remember to respect the area they’re in and the people around them.
Manage Your Food Storage Responsibly
As we mentioned before, labeling food with your name and date helps everyone keep track of their food and keep it from going bad in the fridge. If you want to take it a step further, you can have suggested time limits on how long food should stay in the fridge. 5-7 days would ideally be a good maximum timeframe for food. It’s good office cafeteria fridge etiquette to be responsible for your own stuff so others don’t have to clean up your moldy lasagna leftovers.
Having these food storage rules for office cafeterias prevents confusion and frustration for everybody. Even if you bring in a pre-packaged and sealed frozen food item, it should still be labeled, as sometimes people take food without thinking. Maybe they brought in a similar item but grabbed the wrong one.
Under no circumstances should someone eat or use someone else’s food without permission, however. Labeling prevents accidents, but intentionally eating somebody’s food is stealing and will make most people rightfully angry. Even if it’s coffee creamer, if it’s labeled and not explicitly stated as a communal food, it shouldn’t be used without permission.
Be Courteous When Using Kitchen Appliances
Appliances should be maintained properly at all times. Food should be covered in the microwave with a paper towel or something similar to avoid splattering or spills. Messes should be promptly cleaned to avoid crusted food from repeated microwave use. Proper appliance usage rules help keep your microwaves and other appliances clean and working properly so everyone can use them.
Microwave etiquette in office cafeterias has long been joked about, but nobody thinks putting your leftover fish and broccoli in the microwave is funny. Putting things in the microwave with strong, lingering odors is considered rude and can negatively affect people’s experiences while eating their own food.
Maintain a Quiet and Relaxed Atmosphere
Office cafeterias shouldn’t remind us of high school cafeterias. For the sake of employees and coworkers, maintaining sensible quiet office cafeteria etiquette guidelines helps everyone take advantage of their time to relax. Music, videos, phone calls, and conversations shouldn’t be loud when the space is being shared with others. Headphones should be used when applicable.
If you’ve had a rough day and step into the office cafeteria to take a break, the last thing you want is to hear a bunch of loud conversations and someone watching videos on their phone at full volume. Noise control in office cafeterias maintains the harmonious atmosphere an office cafeteria should strive for.
Navigating Food Sharing and Potlucks
Food etiquette at work helps create healthy boundaries between coworkers. Nobody should assume that something is theirs or free to use unless they’re explicitly given permission. Communal food should be labeled as such to avoid confusion. It might not sound serious, but food can lead to some big arguments within the office that will bleed over into the workday. It’s best to avoid this as much as possible with basic office cafeteria sharing rules.
As for team potlucks and office lunches, others’ dietary needs should be considered. Allergens should be disclosed to avoid emergency room visits. Communal meals are supposed to be time for bonding and sharing and you can’t share with others if some people can’t eat or have to opt out due to a lack of options. Especially for catered office lunches, allergens and diets need to be considered.
It’s better to over-label than it is to have no labels at all. For some, it might seem tedious to do so, but it keeps everyone on the same page, whether it’s labeling a communal coffee creamer or labeling food with allergens in it.
Respecting Coworkers’ Dietary Needs
Allergens are serious and deadly, ensuring employees adhere to strict cross-contamination rules keeps their coworkers safe. Some may find allergy-conscious office cafeteria rules arduous, but if you already have good cleanliness rules, it shouldn’t be difficult to adhere to these rules. Areas or dishes where an allergen was eaten should be wiped down or washed and things like peanut butter should be kept away from other peoples’ food.
For some people, the scent of an allergen won’t give them an allergic reaction, but it will cause them to feel uneasy. To people with severe food allergies, smelling an allergen can be like smelling poison. Employees should refrain from microwaving things that smell intensely of an allergen or sitting near people with a severe allergy if they’ll be eating the allergen. Communication is key and not everyone who has a food allergy needs this level of consideration, however, so this may not be necessary.
Potlucks can be a scary place for people with food allergies because many people don’t think to label their foods. Communicating during potlucks about who’s bringing what is a great way to start the conversation on allergens. Food should be labeled with allergens based on employee needs to avoid reactions.
Dietary etiquette in office cafeterias can help keep everyone safe and able to participate in company events like potlucks. The cafeteria should be a quiet, safe, and comfortable area for everyone to use and dietary awareness is a part of that.
Use the Space Efficiently and Fairly
A cafeteria is similar to a city bus, you should be giving people your spatial consideration at all times. Efficient use of the shared cafeteria space should be applied anytime the cafeteria gets busy so people have places to sit and relax. Monopolizing tables with stuff like laptops, bags, notebooks, and other items when the cafeteria is busy is rude.
Meetings shouldn’t be done in the cafeteria to avoid having laptops out and promote mindfulness of the space and people around. Employees should also clean up and leave as soon as they’re finished eating to avoid crowding the cafeteria. Time management etiquette in office cafeterias ensures everybody has time to sit, relax, and enjoy their food without having to wait for others to sit and eat.
Overall, creating an environment to eat peacefully without having to find a place to sit should be the goal.
Reduce Waste and Go Green
Sustainability practices and sustainability-centric office cafeteria rules can help permeate the intention in your cafeteria. Offering reusable containers, plates, bowls, and utensils whenever possible helps reinforce the idea of thinking of others and the environment. People are more likely to care about something when they see other people caring as well.
Having compostable trash bins for food helps contribute to your sustainability efforts. Employees can have designated bins to scrape their food so it can be composted instead of dumped into the trash. This helps lessen the amount of food that goes to waste and instead can be made into fertilizer for plants.
Encouraging employees to only take what they need is another great way to implement sustainability practices. You can reduce food waste in cafeterias by simply reducing the amount of food people have to waste. Many cafeterias do this by offering frozen or prepackaged food, reducing the speed at which the food expires, or allowing staff to preorder food.
Handling Disputes Professionally
Even after you establish respectable rules that everyone agrees to follow, the risk of rules and etiquette being broken is still there. Handling etiquette disputes at work, especially in the cafeteria, can be pretty awkward sometimes. Thankfully that’s what an HR department is for, or if needed, speaking to management as well. Conflicts are uncomfortable but also a liability and need to be handled with care. Confrontations should be avoided and all conflicts should be handled with the utmost respect. Resolving office cafeteria conflicts should be treated just the same as any other office conflict would be treated.
Promoting a culture of mutual accountability and respect can help many of these conflicts resolve on their own. Employees who feel comfortable communicating with each other when they make a mistake help facilitate an environment where everyone gets along better, adding to the harmony of the office.
Getting Started With Office Cafeteria Rules and Etiquette
Having a shared space can be stressful without clear rules and etiquette guidelines. The clarity these guidelines bring helps maintain everyone’s ability to enjoy the space peacefully, making rest time (and as a result, work time) pleasant and more productive. It’s essential to have rules to keep things orderly and have a plan when rules are broken.
Implementing these rules is a great step in achieving a successful office cafeteria. If you’re looking for more harmony in your office cafeteria, Zerocater can help. Zerocater specializes in cafeteria management, and since all we do is food, we can come up with a cafeteria management plan that suits any size or budget. We learn from your staff to create delicious menus that suit everyone’s needs, so all they have to worry about is coming in and grabbing what sounds good today. If you’re ready to elevate your office dining experience, reach out to us today and we can give you personalized quotes and information.
