Workplace Lunches and Parties
Employees shouldn't have to miss out on business lunches and celebrations because of food allergy. Learn ways to plan events that are both fun and safe.
Many important workplace moments happen away from the offices and conference rooms. Lunches and parties are great ways to celebrate personal or professional milestones. They can also help maintain or improve team morale.
These social events almost always involve food—but that doesn’t mean employees should miss out because of food allergy. Employers and office managers should be sensitive to the needs of those with food allergy. Employees with food allergy can manage these opportunities like they do other parts of life.
Work Lunches
Having lunch with clients, coworkers, or one's supervisor is a common way to build rapport and conduct business.
Make sure the office manager or meeting coordinator has a list of restaurants that the individual with food allergy is comfortable eating at or ordering from. The individual can take the initiative of providing this list even if it has not been requested. The individual may offer to be the one to schedule the lunch or make restaurant reservations so they can plan ahead with the restaurant staff.
If a meeting is spontaneous or previously planned, employees with food allergy shouldn't be afraid to speak up if the restaurant cannot accommodate them. If someone would prefer to not eat out at all, adjust to planning coffee or happy hour drinks instead. These smaller-scale outings can be easier to manage with food allergy.
Parties and Celebrations
Birthday parties, retirement parties, baby showers and other celebrations happen regularly in most offices. Employees should have the opportunity to speak with a supervisor about how the company can host events that will be both fun and safe for them to attend.
If you're an employee with food allergy, recommend foods that you know are allergy-friendly. For potlucks, you can always bring a safe one-dish meal so you will have something to enjoy. Serve yourself first to avoid cross-contact with serving utensils used in other dishes.
Supervisors and office managers should also be mindful of suggesting that special occasions incorporate non-food-related activities. Games or contests—think board games, trivia, word games, scavenger hunts and team-building activities—are popular options. Colleagues may welcome the chance to get up and move and focus less on food, for their own personal reasons.
Know that recreational workplace parties are not considered an essential job task. For this reason, the law does not require that parties include safe food or other accommodations.
As colleagues become friends, making sure everyone feels included becomes a more organic priority. Coworkers may ask for more information to help keep someone safe and avoid exclusion. However, no employee should feel pressured to disclose medical information outside of a request for accommodation.
Even when colleagues try hard to create a food allergy-aware workplace, mistakes may happen. Always ask for what you need to stay safe with food allergy, and ask for help if you experience medical distress.