When it comes to dietary office etiquette, there are a few obvious rules.
Microwaving fish = bad. Drinking someones almond milk when theyve had to buy it themselves = very much not ok. Eating with your mouth open at your desk = borderline fireable offence.
But tea and biscuits? Well, youd think such a simple pairing would pass without much contention.
Not so.
New research by McVities has found that dunking a digestive in a cup of tea is frowned upon in the office – particularly if done during meetings.
The study claims that one in five Brits disapprove of co-workers dunking mid-meeting, despite the fact that 71% of us tea and biscuit consumers enjoy a doggy biscuit (not that kind you filthy animal).
Maybe its because digestives have a sneaky habit of dissolving in cups of tea – thus creating a load of mess when they do eventually plop to their soggy deaths. If so, there are other, sturdier biscuits like Bourbons that are thought to survive a dunk better thanks to the holes, which might fly better in the boardroom.
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But dunking isnt the only biscuit-based issue British workers have.
Other office habits which dont sit well with people include colleagues who open a packet of custard creams that belong to someone else, and the biggest faux pas of all is leaving crumbs on someones desk – with 38% of respondents saying that leaving a crumb trail is unacceptable behaviour.
Mind you, who actively goes over to someone elses desk to eat a biscuit? Leaving a load of crumbs in your own area is one thing but its an odd move to do it in someone elses.
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