'That's diabolical': Office worker's brazen act in communal fridge sparks outrage

Anyone who has worked in an office knows the risk of leaving snacks in the communal fridge.

But one employee discovered just how bold co-workers can be when it comes to other people's food.

The worker shared the bizarre moment online after bringing a packet of Tim Tams into the office and leaving it in the fridge after opening it and eating one.

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When they returned later in the day, however, they found something unexpected sitting on top of the packet: a sticky note.

And it carried a short message that the owner definitely hadn't written themselves.

"Someone at work put a 'help yourself' note on a pack of Tim Tams that I bought," he wrote in a post on Reddit.

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The story quickly drew a flood of reactions online, with many people stunned by the sheer audacity of the move.

"That is so stupid it's actually funny. Who would even do that? That's diabolical," one commenter said.

"Workplace food thieves are normally just impulsive and gluttonous. This person is an actual menace. There's no impulse here, just cool and calculated deception," another user added.

"Save the sticky note. When you figure out whose it is, wait for them to leave something in the fridge and then return it to them by putting the note on their item," a third suggested.

Despite the cheeky act, the worker said the situation mostly made him laugh.

He admitted he "chuckled" when he realised what had happened, but decided it wasn't worth escalating the issue.

With only three other colleagues in the team, he said he didn't want to "start a drama".

Instead, he simply removed the biscuits, "ate them and continued working".

The post soon prompted others to share their own stories of workplace food theft - and in some cases, the serious consequences when someone was caught.

"This would get you fired at my job. They would launch an investigation and check cameras. Have had two managers walked that were eating others' lunches or doing this type of thing," one person wrote.

"I got a guy fired for doing this stuff to me constantly. I was the only woman on the team and continued calling him out for it. Finally one day he sent an email saying as the 'girl' it was my job to provide the guys with snacks," another shared.

"I sent that straight to HR with the entire chain of emails and said I'd be heading to a lawyer after work. They walked the dude out. They doubled down when they asked him about it."

Rather than relying on passive-aggressive notes or office gossip, experts say simple kitchen etiquette can help avoid these situations altogether.

Labelling containers, cleaning up spills promptly and introducing a regular fridge clean-out can make shared spaces far less chaotic.

Until then, however, office fridges across the country may continue to harbour the occasional mystery snack thief - and the odd rogue sticky note.

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