what to say to employees who take much more than their share of free food

A reader writes:

I read your column regularly, and I’m aware of all the drama surrounding office food. How and where do you draw the boundaries in the gray area of office eating if it’s company-provided food at a company event?

We’ve had ongoing issues with employees eating much more than their share of food at office events, including one person who ate all the appetizers for a five-person table before anyone else, including clients, could have any. (I saw major stakeholders giving him the side eye.) We’ve had employees take so much food at events that not enough was left for guests.

As the person managing the catering for our frequent conferences, I find myself laying out different sets of rules for different events. Sometimes the food is only for the guests. Sometimes it’s for the staff as well, but only after the guests have gotten theirs. Sometimes it’s simultaneous, in which case the expectation is that my colleagues will take modest portions. Sometimes I have to quietly direct staff away from, say, the vegetarian option if I’m concerned we’re running short. Generally I let staff know either during set-up or via email what their options are.

We have had instances where employees have jumped in the buffet line first and I have literally stepped in front of them and told them quietly that they should to wait until after guests have eaten. I’ve chased coworkers away from trays of desserts. I’ve also said things like “please take only one” or “no, we’re not serving staff yet.” I figure this traffic-directing is part of my job. (All of these events are in our office building during business hours, so staff has access to their usual dining options; they’re not trapped in a convention center. Also, most of the time, the staff invited to help eat the catered food are not involved the event.)

What’s the best way to handle this?

I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.

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