Nothing Brings Out the Worst in Your Co-Workers Like a Well-Intentioned Office Potluck

Work Office Potlucks Bring Out the Weirdest Version of Everyone Why are we fighting over pound cake? July 27, 202610:00 AM Photo illustration by Slate. Photos by Field of Poppies Photography/iStock/Getty Images Plus, Ryan McVay/Getty Images Plus, and chekat/Getty Images Plus. Few people are as knee-deep in our work-related anxieties and sticky office politics as Alison Green, who has been fielding workplace questions for a decade now on her website Ask a Manager. In Direct Report, she spotlights themes from her inbox that help explain the modern workplace and how we could be navigating it better. Office potlucks should be among the lowest-stakes events on the work calendar: no deadlines, no presentations, no performance reviews, just a table full of food and a chance to enjoy a meal with c