New hire reserves office microwave for 30 minutes every day for dietary reasons, ends up getting banned by HR from using it after unplugging it to keep others out: 'But... the microwave was free'

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Jun 11, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Shared office kitchens are a delicate ecosystem. Between the passive-aggressive fridge notes, the mysterious vanishing yogurts, and that one person who always reheats fish, it's amazing the microwave hasn't sparked a full-blown HR incident... until now.

Microwaves are communal by nature. We all agree (grudgingly) to wait our turn, limit our time, and maybe give it a wipe if our soup explodes. In high school, my cafeteria had two microwaves for hundreds of students. The minute someone torched their Easy Mac beyond recognition, the whole school had to suffer from the smell. So when one person starts treating the microwave like it's their personal appliance, things can get messy.

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  • Which brings us to this new office hire, who took things to the next level by reserving the microwave daily for a 30-minute “dietary reasons” window. When coworkers ignored her passive-aggressive sticky notes, she started removing their food and eventually just unplugged the thing altogether. HR did not approve.

  • 00:0 2:45
    via Lissete Laverde For Unsplash+

  • Entitled Coworker “Reserves” the Office Microwave Because of Her “Dietary Needs and Timing”

    This is so ridiculous I still don't believe it actually happened. We have a shared microwave in our office breakroom. One microwave. First come,
    via CopyGayez
  • first served. Everyone just uses it like normal adults. Until Michelle. Michelle joined our team a month ago, harmless at first until last week, when she apparently decided she has the microwave.
    via CopyGayez
  • I went in to heat up my lunch around 12:35. She was sitting at a nearby table eating a salad. I didn't think anything of it, popped my food in, hit start.
    via CopyGayez
  • Suddenly she goes, "Umm, excuse me? Did you not see the note?" I looked at the microwave. There was a post-it that said in all caps:
    via CopyGayez
  • "THIS MICROWAVE IS RESERVED FOR MICHELLE FROM 12:30 TO 1:00 PM DUE TO DIETARY NEEDS. PLEASE RESPECT THIS TIME SLOT." I asked, "Wait... you wrote this?"
    via CopyGayez
  • Cheezburger Image 10514534144
    via Kelly Sikkema For Unsplash+
  • Michelle (completely serious): "Yes. I have dietary needs, and I eat a warm meal at exactly 12:45 every day. I can't have delays. It messes with my digestion and routine."
    via CopyGayez

  • Am I the only one not understanding why she needed 30 whole minutes? 

  • I said, "But... you're eating right now. And the microwave was free." She just shrugged and said, "I'm prepping my stomach."
    via CopyGayez
  • I said, "Look, the microwave is shared. You can't just reserve it like this." Michelle: "It's a medical thing. I talked to my nutritionist. If I don't eat
    via CopyGayez
  • at the right time, I get bloated and irritable." Me: "Okay well, it's not in use and I'm not delaying you" She started sighing really loudly and muttering
    via CopyGayez
  • things like, "Some people just don't understand health issues." Later in the week, I found out she had been taking people's food out of the microwave mid-cycle during her "slot" and
    via CopyGayez
  • leaving notes like: "Please wait until after 1 PM. I NEED the microwave more than you do." Eventually, someone reported her to HR after she unplugged the microwave "so no one would use it accidentally."
    via CopyGayez
  • HR cautioned her and told her if she repeats that again she won't use the microwave again. Now we all make jokes about whether the microwave is feeling bloated or needs emotional space before lunch.
    via CopyGayez

  • I want to know what happened that made her this way. You know she probably has some tea from her last job…

  • Beneficial_Honey5697 What a lunatic
    via Beneficial_Honey5697
  • Dreadedredhead 1/2 hour block? But she needs it at 12:45? That woman is cray-cray.
    via Dreadedredhead
  • Gribitz37 Her nutritionist told her she has to eat at exactly 12:45? Does this "nutritionist" also sell pyramid scheme vitamins?
    via Gribitz37
  • WhatiworetodayinNY People like this should be fired just because if they are that big of an issue about a microwave they have other HR issues, even if it hasn't reared its head yet. At least in my experience.
    via WhatiworetodayinNY
  • ILoveLipGloss is it HER microwave? no? shared office microwave? i would use it all the time between 12-1pm, reheating, adding 30 seconds, just standing
    via ILoveLipGloss
  • there while the little turntable rotates & the fan whirs, smiling at her while she continues to get more territorial & unhinged. i LIVE for people like this off.
    via ILoveLipGloss
  • Granite Rose067 Get HR to put a note about this behaviour on file. Don't make it a complaint. Just ask them to document this. She is
    via GraniteRose067
  • going to be a problem and it sure won't hurt to have a documentation trail for future reference.
    via GraniteRose067
  • HobbittBass Or she "gets irritable?" Turns out she was irritable before 12:45.
    via HobbittBass
  • Commercial_Win_6528 She already sounds bloated and full of wind with that entitlement.
    via Commercial_Win_6528
  • maroongrad Ah, a "nutritionist." OP, if you declare yourself a nutritionist, then you have completed all requirements to be a nutritionist. You can even
    via maroongrad
  • use a template and print off a certificate declaring yourself to be a nutritionist, or buy a little. name tag with "Nutritionist" above your name. A dietician is a doctor. A nutritionist
    via maroongrad
  • MIGHT be educated and skilled but honestly? You can declare yourself a nutritionist and state that she does NOT need the microwave at that time and that microwaved food will cause her issues due to the radiation (...which is
    via maroongrad
  • not remotely true) or the timing or that it's heated. up too fast or whatever. H I, the entire department can be nutritionists if you want to declare yourselves to be. Do with that information what you will ;)
    via maroongrad

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employee hr job new hire work coworkers lunch Office human resources kitchen workplace microwave karma entitled people
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