A Malaysian intern was left in tears after a coworker allegedly mocked the smell of her home-cooked lunch, reportedly saying it smelled like rubbish and even comparing it to a toilet.
The young woman shared her experience on Threads, saying she had been excited to eat the meal her mother had prepared for her that day. The packed lunch included one of her favourite dishes — crab cooked in sambal with egg.
But her excitement quickly disappeared when a coworker allegedly complained about the smell while she was in the office pantry.
The intern said she had not eaten anything since morning and was already hungry when she brought the food into the pantry. However, just as she was about to eat, her coworker allegedly told her that the food smelled as though it had come from a toilet.
She was stunned and immediately lost her appetite.
The coworker allegedly went on to open the windows, switch on a diffuser and light a scented candle, claiming that the food smelled like rubbish.
“Do you think I eat rubbish?” the intern questioned in her post.
Humiliated by the incident, she packed away the meal and went to her car, where she eventually broke down in tears.
She said what hurt most was that the meal had been lovingly prepared by her mother, and she had been looking forward to enjoying it during lunch.
The intern questioned why her coworker could not have simply raised the issue politely if the smell was genuinely bothering them.
“Why is it so difficult for some people to be considerate or just tell someone nicely?” she wrote.
She also wondered whether she was being treated differently because she was an intern.
“Is it because I’m an intern? Is that why you treat me like I don’t have feelings? Does being an intern mean I just have to keep putting up with things that hurt me?” she wrote.
Following the incident, she said she would no longer eat in the office pantry.
Instead, she plans to have lunch outside, return home, eat at a shop or simply have her meals inside her car.
“From now on, I’ll just go out during lunch. If not, I’ll go home to eat or eat at a shop. Otherwise, I’ll just sit in my car,” she said.
She added that the experience had made her realise that no matter how carefully someone tries to avoid inconveniencing others, it is impossible to please everyone.
