Office worker "Brian" microwaves fish every day for a month, coworker writes anonymous note to get HR to step in: 'People have started... to avoid the break room'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Oct 22, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

If you microwave mackerel every day at the office because it's a delicious "brain food," I have news for you: everyone else wishes you'd knock that off.

In this office, there's a dude named Brian who cannot help himself: he apparently needs to heat up his fish lunch every day. That results in the whole office smelling fishy all afternoon, and in a lot of offices, you can't even open the windows to air out the stench. May I suggest to Brian that he try combining rice, salmon, and sriracha mayo? This is a delicious combo that you can eat cold, I assure you. It smells very faintly, but unless someone's sitting next to you, they won't smell a thing.

There are many things that you shouldn't bring into an office kitchen! Just consider the smell of the food before you bring it. However, some people literally do not care about other people's feelings, even their direct coworkers. Brian seems upset that everyone else is really tired of his fishy ways. He's been asked multiple times, directly and indirectly not to bring it, and nothing has worked.

I'm hoping this person will update their story at some point, because Brian doesn't seem like the kind of level-headed person who will back down from his fishy fight. The worker who shared this story wonders if he'll start bringing shrimp in to boost his health or whatever instead. I'm willing to bet that he'll get a doctor's note insisting that he needs to eat fish every day for lunch. Read the full (ridiculous) tale below, and see what you think his next move will be!

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via Fotos via Unsplash+

_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}
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via Gregor Moser on Unsplash+

_{The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.}