4 ms·

Top of my list: anything involving food. I’m allergic to casein and whey (proteins found in milk). And any amount of cross-contamination will make me physicall

Top of my list: anything involving food. I’m allergic to casein and whey (proteins found in milk). And any amount of cross-contamination will make me physically sick. Caffeine and alcohol aggravate my mental health issues. This was a disaster at my last job. Every event involving food, one of the following happens: - Pizza party, donuts, cake, etc as rewards. A number of people choose not to eat these because of calories, so people allergic to the food can choose not to eat it. - Spend over a hour making a list of safe restaurants that are too expensive for me to ever have been to and still getting sick because food safety is for plebs. - Help plan the catering for an event I’d rather not attend. - Standing around awkwardly while everyone apologizes multiple times for forgetting my food allergies. I don’t want to be there and now I am responsible for making everyone else feel better about the situation. - Told to get lunch on my own and expense it. Forget the receipt and have accounting get my manager involved. And for fun, the worst situation: a VIP coming to the office to work with me for two days on an important project. Well, if course everyone involved had to go to dinner with him. I had to pick the restaurant. Said restaurant did in fact not understand food safety, despite their claims to the contrary. Realized this about half an hour into the meal. I was severely sick for the next two days and felt terrible for the next week. The damage was severe enough I couldn’t keep food down initially. Probably should have gone the hospital, but I didn’t want to pay hundreds of dollars on top of my misery. I suspect this was career limiting. Got a new job eventually. So fuck that guy.

vorpalhex 4y ago
It sounds like you are allergic to something else if every restaurant you go to has "cross contamination issues".
- nerdponx 4y ago
  Butter is everywhere in restaurants, that could be a big issue, especially in higher-end restaurants. And "fast casual" places tend to have some kind of cheese at the counter. I have celiac disease, so I also have a lot of issues with cross contamination at restaurants, and I have problems similar to GP. I can usually eat at restaurants, but I need to ask a lot of questions and/or make sure I go when they aren't busy, so I can be reasonably sure that the kitchen staff have the time to ensure that my food isn't contaminated. I also need to avoid fast casual restaurants unless it looks like the food bins at the counter have been recently replenished (less risk of utensil contamination). I simply don't eat at company events, and for that reason I too don't put any value on food as a company gift. I try to eat pretty healthy anyway, so I don't mind being barred from pizza, Italian combo sandwiches, and tacos. When the team goes out to lunch, I usually walk with them to the door of the restaurant, and then go my own way. That said, GP seems to be carrying a lot of guilt and bearing a lot of emotional burden related to this. Seems like the company work environment might have been disrespectful and/or toxic for other reasons, of which the food issues were a symptom.
  - kayodelycaon 4y ago
    Definitely toxic. No guilt here. No issues at my current employer. For me, being aware of relationship politics and social expectations to be a necessary survival skill.
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  No. There are plenty of places I can go where this doesn’t happen. And I cook my own food. I know what I’m allergic to. A lot of expensive places I had to pick from used gallons of butter every night. I’m also in the Midwest. Food safety is a bit of a foreign concept out here.

vorpalhex 4y ago

It sounds like you are allergic to something else if every restaurant you go to has "cross contamination issues".

nerdponx 4y ago
Butter is everywhere in restaurants, that could be a big issue, especially in higher-end restaurants. And "fast casual" places tend to have some kind of cheese at the counter. I have celiac disease, so I also have a lot of issues with cross contamination at restaurants, and I have problems similar to GP. I can usually eat at restaurants, but I need to ask a lot of questions and/or make sure I go when they aren't busy, so I can be reasonably sure that the kitchen staff have the time to ensure that my food isn't contaminated. I also need to avoid fast casual restaurants unless it looks like the food bins at the counter have been recently replenished (less risk of utensil contamination). I simply don't eat at company events, and for that reason I too don't put any value on food as a company gift. I try to eat pretty healthy anyway, so I don't mind being barred from pizza, Italian combo sandwiches, and tacos. When the team goes out to lunch, I usually walk with them to the door of the restaurant, and then go my own way. That said, GP seems to be carrying a lot of guilt and bearing a lot of emotional burden related to this. Seems like the company work environment might have been disrespectful and/or toxic for other reasons, of which the food issues were a symptom.
- kayodelycaon 4y ago
  Definitely toxic. No guilt here. No issues at my current employer. For me, being aware of relationship politics and social expectations to be a necessary survival skill.
kayodelycaon 4y ago
No. There are plenty of places I can go where this doesn’t happen. And I cook my own food. I know what I’m allergic to. A lot of expensive places I had to pick from used gallons of butter every night. I’m also in the Midwest. Food safety is a bit of a foreign concept out here.