WSJ article on the office candy jar

[Who Me?]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 52032.html

I've actually been pretty good about workplace candy for years. My motto has always been "DON'T START."

Thoughts on this article?

[BrightAngel]

Good article. Thanks for sharing it.

[NoelFigart]

I think that I have far too much to do controlling my own behavior to have Melanie's energy to worry about other people's. My choice in that situation was to put on my big girl panties and realize that my own neurons controlled the reach for the candy dish.

I wouldn't want to work for her even if I agree that permasnacking is a bad idea.

Candy dishes are NOT irresistible. We're just told they are because advertisers want to sell more candy.

[Nicest of the Damned]

Candy dishes are NOT irresistible. We're just told they are because advertisers want to sell more candy.

They are hard to resist. But I don't think outlawing them for the whole office is necessarily reasonable. Not having one on your own desk would be reasonable.

[NoelFigart]

I think they get easier to resist with habit training. Most of us have YEARS of the habit of nibbling behind us. But a few months on No-S and most of user here report getting to the point where they don't notice the dish so much.

I agree that outlawing them for the office is unreasonable.

[Starla]

This was very interesting to me, because our office's two candy jars are on my counter (there's a picture of them and my strategy for dealing with the candy, in the "No S Catch Phrases" thread).

This quotation from Brian Wansink was striking to me: "Even for a person with the greatest resolve, every time they look at a candy dish they say, 'Do I want that Hershey's Kiss, or don't I?' At the 24th time, maybe I'm kind of hungry, and I just got this terrible email, and my boss is complaining—and gradually my resolve is worn down."

This is exactly where No S makes a difference. Monday through Friday, I never ask myself if I want a piece of that candy. However, I worked this past Sunday, and I was chowing down on the sweet stuff.

I wouldn't want to work for Melanie either.

[NoelFigart]

There's a lot of power in being pre-disapproved by No-S rules. Wozniak is right about the weight of the many microdecisions. I like the macro-decisions of No-S because it simplifies things a lot and puts eating decisions more on automatic. It's one of the beauties of the system, in my strong opinion.

I had tea with a friend this morning. She put out a plate of fruit. Now, of course, fruit is "good for you", so were I not doing No-S, I would have had the grapes and enjoyed 'em. (I'm quite fond of fruit). But, I didn't even think about it and enjoyed the tea and talk.

Like you, Starla, I don't say, "Do I want this or don't I?" on weekdays. I ask, "It is time for Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner, or is this a second or sweet?"

Weekends are another story, entirely, just like for you!

[librarylady]

We used to have a candy dish and I was a terrible one for dipping into it. That dish disappeared a few years ago. However I noticed that when someone recently brought in a homemade chocolate cake and laid it out for anyone to take that I had no problem in saying no to it. When queried I said that I do "no s" - odd looks all around - what is that? When I told them they were interested - for a few minutes - and then moved on to other things. Nobody was disturbed that I did not partake - people really don't care too much!

As for me - I just followed the "rules" - something I am really quite good at - the main thing is to convince myself that these ARE the rules and must be obeyed.

[ThomsonsPier]

When queried I said that I do "no s" - odd looks all around - what is that? When I told them they were interested - for a few minutes - and then moved on to other things.

This happens to me on occasion. I'm sure I've told the same people about it at least six times. Each time they experience wonderment anew.

There isn't a jar, as such, at work (there used to be one with a five pence charge per sweet, which went to charity; people were known to put ten pounds at the start of the month and replenish it periodically) but sweet things often turn up in the kitchen. As they're in a central location, they're quite easy to avoid, and very few of them ever look appealing anyway.

Her rule, she told co-workers in their Canton, Ohio, real-estate office: "If I have to smell it, I will move it."

My rule: "If you move something on my desk without asking, I will move it straight back. Or position it so it annoys you even more."

It's not entirely clear from the article whether Ms Meek's is working with co-workers or subordinates. In the latter case, setting rules in the office seems reasonable, but I would find it quite offensive if someone with no authority over me interfered with my space because they were unable to control themselves.

[milliem]

My choice in that situation was to put on my big girl panties and realize that my own neurons controlled the reach for the candy dish.

Totally agree with this. There are plenty of chocolate bars, cakes and cookies floating around in my office most of the time, but it's my responsibility to NOT dip my hand into them or say a polite 'no thanks' when offered. Who am I to try and limit other people's food intake or make them feel bad about their choices?

[Thalia]

One of the beauties of No S to me is that you don't need to explain it if you don't want to. Because the diet doesn't require weird eating habits or a ten-minute instruction list to the waiter when you eat out, or picking things out of your food, or drinking your meals, or other bizarre behaviors, no one needs to know you're doing anything at all!

"Oh, I'm not hungry, thanks!" or "No thanks, I just ate" are all the explanation you ever need to give.

[Nicest of the Damned]

"If I have to smell it, I will move it"?

What do you want to bet that she's a high-maintenance type?

I wouldn't be surprised if she's the only one in the office that complains about the smell of lunches that her co-workers eat at their desks.

What does she plan to do when she goes to an environment that she doesn't control, and there is candy available there? What if she's a customer somewhere and the receptionist's desk has candy on it? How does she plan to resist candy at the grocery store? ETA: She works in a real estate office. What if she goes to look at houses with clients, and they bring some candy along for a snack? Does she swat it out of their hands?

You don't get to demand that, just because you have a problem with something, everybody in the world has to avoid it. A recovering alcoholic doesn't get to demand that alcohol be outlawed. I keep kosher, but I don't get to demand that the sale of pork be made illegal. We No-S'ers don't get to demand that it be illegal to sell sweets Monday through Friday. Better to learn to resist when the thing you have a problem with is present, because eventually you will be in an environment you don't control where it is. Especially if it's something as ubiquitous as candy.

She can't make everybody in the world stop keeping stashes of candy. And what do you want to bet that, if her effort to avoid candy fails, she'll blame other people for having the candy around her, rather than taking responsibility for choosing to eat it?

You really can pass by a candy dish without eating anything from it, or smell candy without eating it. People do it every day. I bet this woman does not, when she eats meals with other people, grab their food off their plates. She smells that food, but she has been trained not to snatch food from others. She is capable of smelling food and not choosing to eat it.

You can train an animal to not eat every time it smells food and can get to the food. My cats smell all kinds of delectable things on our kitchen counters- chicken, fish, the juice from tuna cans. But they don't jump up on the counters to get the goodies. They could do it, but they have been trained not to. If they can do that, you can train yourself to not eat candy except at the right times.

[NoelFigart]

"If I have to smell it, I will move it"?

What do you want to bet that she's a high-maintenance type?

I wouldn't be surprised if she's the only one in the office that complains about the smell of lunches that her co-workers eat at their desks.

LOL. It would tempt me to start making the strong-smelling curries to bring to lunch. Well, at least THINK about it fondly. Or suggest a stinky cheese party.

[librarylady]

I mention No S when someone asks me why I'm not partaking of a treat because I think that somewhere along the line someone might be interested. Most of the folks I work with want to lose weight, so I just put it out there. I don't preach or anything, but I figure that if I'd heard about it earlier in my life, I might have investigated it. So I mention it - and then stop. Luckily you can sum it up in so few words!

[sheepish]

I still don't always manage to resist office treats but, one of the things that I noticed when I started No S was that my (slim) colleagues would routinely turn down birthday cakes/etc (except when hungry or as a special treat) and that everyone else got used to that and didn't really pressure them about it at all. Once I started saying no, the same thing started to happen to me and it got easier and easier not to partake because everyone around me didn't expect me to.

[oolala53]

I don't think Melanie's moves were supposed to be the focus, but yes, she is going a bit far. No S has definitely made it easier to ignore these things. And thankfully, I still love smelling good foods, though I prefer savory to sweet in the office. And not fish, though I love eating it. I just do it at home.

The notions of the reasons for wanting to have visible candy or baked goods around are to my mind dysfunctional. It does not help people in the long run and in fact does often become harmful. Most of it hardly qualifies as food, but more entertainment. I still love my sweets on weekends, but I think of them as entertainment. If I ran the world, simple flowers --- don't have to be expensive displays--and maybe a very light fragrance- burning candle or potpourri- would replace the ubiquitous food. I think of the lovely habit in Bali of placing these darling teeny daily-woven palm leaf baskets of flowers, flower petals, and leaves right out on door steps or the sidewalk outside of homes and businesses.

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/travelblogs ... tId=356546

I said on another thread that one book I read on French eating habits said that no respectable French woman has a stash of any food, never mind packaged candy and chips, in her desk drawer-- and double never mind sitting out in a clear container. I doubt the French men do, either. Il n'est tout simplement pas fait.

However, we live here, sigh. The land of we-must-show-at-all-times-that-we-have-plenty-to-eat. Thank you, No S, for making it a little more like just background music. Ah, I just thought of it. Office food offerings are the elevator music of real sustenance.

[r.jean]

I learned early on when I moved to my current office that the supervisor was in charge of keeping a candy bowl and keeping it full. So...I keep up my end of the bargain. Luckily most people want it there and those who don't keeep their mouth shut. The bowl sits in my office, and I never eat out of it. In some ways having it so accessible makes it easier to ignore.

I do mix in a few slightly healthier choices like granola bars and when I bring treats for team meetings, I bring healthy items and schedule the meeting first thing in the morning so I can just delay my breakfast and have it then.

I totally agree with Noel about taking personal responsibility regardless of whether we are talking about food, cigarettes, alcohol, or something else!

[kccc]

Office food offerings are the elevator music of real sustenance.

Ooh, you should put that on the sticky quote thread!! Love it!

I confess I do wish that our culture was more conducive to a "No-S friendly environment"... though I mind FAR more on behalf of my child than myself. I think children are besieged by the snack-o-mania in our culture, so grow up with awful habits.

But... you have to work within your own circle of control... and impinging on others in a rude way (ala Melanie in the story) is not an attractive option.

We have a lot of bringers-of-sweets-to-meetings at my office. I always say something about how thoughtful/nice/kind (acknowledging the good intent) but don't eat the "goodies". The longer I'm on No-S, the easier it is to pass them by - most of them are honestly not that attractive anymore. I never get any pressure... people are pretty used to me not eating them by now.

Our receptionist keeps a filled candy jar that I pass by every time I walk in or out of my office. Oh well. It's colorful decoration. I admit that every now and then, something looks interesting in it (she gets unusual things), but I tell myself I can pick up a piece on Friday on my way out to have on Saturday if I really want. I've done that one time, I think.