Foods You Should Not Eat in the Office

Everyone needs to eat. That means if you work full time, you will probably need to bring food to work. According to Healthline, a healthy diet will help you be alert and improve your productivity and concentration. Some of the best foods to boost productivity include eggs, bananas, and even tea and wine.

As important as productivity is, you also want to avoid bringing certain foods to work. Bringing messy food can result in a lot of cleanup and potential embarrassment. You also don’t want to show up to any important meetings with food on your clothes. Bringing food with a strong smell also can be a bad idea, and sticky foods can cause temporary peril, as well. Here are 10 foods to avoid.

1. Barbecue

If you’re outside or in the safety of your own home, a quality barbecue meal can be a wonderful treat. But barbecue isn’t the best choice for work because it is extremely messy. In addition to potentially destroying your clothes, if you are eating in a shared environment, your co-workers might not enjoy watching you eat such a messy food in public. If you must have ribs at work, use a knife and fork. Also, be prepared to run to the bathroom to clean your hands and face.

2. Guacamole or salsa

Guacamole and salsa are definitely a hit with most people. And if you’re having a work party, you might be able to get away with bringing them to the office. Otherwise, leave these chip-toppers at home. Both guacamole and salsa are very messy. Even if you only spill a little on your shirt or pants (or an important memo), you won’t be getting them off anytime soon.

3. Candy

Have you ever walked by a child licking a lollipop, eating a chocolate bar, or blowing bubbles and been astonished by the amount of mess? Candy tends to get all over your hands, mouth, and anything you touch. When a kid does it, it can be kind of cute. But it isn’t so cute when your co-workers see you do the same thing.

If you really like snacking on candy, choose something that won’t stick all over everything. Also, pay attention to how much you are eating. It can be easy to start snacking on candy as the hours go by, and you might be affected by the aftermath of a sugar high later in the day.

4. Glazed donuts

Not only are donuts messy, but the sticky ones tend to bring out even less appealing behaviors than other messy foods, such as finger licking. You also might feel your teeth starting to hurt if you eat too many glazed donuts. If you must bring donuts, stick to the less messy options, such as cake donuts. If you’re really creative, consider bringing in cake pops. The sticks will help limit the mess