27yo worker reveals wild thing that is still normal at workplaces

Aussie working culture has come a long way but there’s still one toxic trend that won’t seem to go away.

“You’re so lucky you can eat all of that.”

Evelyn Leia has amassed over 100,000 views on social media by calling out a gross office act that too many women have come to accept.

Ms Leia, 27, has worked in corporate jobs on and off for almost a decade, and while she’s found some places worse than others, she’s encountered diet culture in all of them.

The 27-year-old describes it as “corporate diet culture” which is the normalisation of your co-workers pretending they don’t eat or commenting on the food other people in the office eat.

Ms Leia said diet culture can include general comments like “I’ve been good today” and by “good” they mean they haven’t eaten.

It can also involve co-workers commenting directly on what other people are eating. For example, she’s been at work eating pasta and been told, “Wow, you’re so lucky you can eat that.”

“It is a fixation with what you’re eating, what other people are eating. Trying to lose weight and associating morality with food,” Ms Leia told news.com.au.

“I also think it gives people the opportunity to get validation on what they are doing. It almost becomes competitive behaviour.”

The 27-year-old has worked in corporate jobs for over seven years. Picture: TikTok/evelynleia

Her rant amassed over 100,000 views. Picture: TikTok/evelynleia

When Ms Leia shared her theory online, hundreds of Australian women commented, exposing the rife diet culture at work.

“This happened at my work once, not in corporate, but I was eating a mango, and she’s like, ‘You’re going to eat that whole mango? I could never”, one shared.

“People bragging about skipping lunch is honestly so sad,” another wrote.

“The amount of times I’ve been shamed for eating rice,” someone else said.

“I went to get a snack from the snack drawer and one of the finance guys told me ‘we sell shapewear if you need it,” one wrote.

“I work in childcare, and I’ve never experienced this type of Judgement. I’d literally cry in front of them,” another said.

Ms Leia has sat in offices and listened to her co-workers brag about how they haven’t eaten today or skipped breakfast, and then listened to another co-worker try to one-up that person and share that they haven’t eaten for longer.

“It is deeply rooted,” she said.

She said that diet culture is “deeply rooted” in Aussie culture. Picture: TikTok/evelynleia

Ms Leia now calls out diet culture. Picture: TikTok/evelynleia

Ms Leia said she’s aware of how toxic it is because she’s a nutrition coach and understands that there are no such things as good and bad foods.

“I previously had a bad relationship with food, and I know when people talk about not eating carbs or not eating after 5pm, I know it isn’t necessary,” she explained.

When she first started working in offices, it was harder to block out the comments about food, and she admitted it would get to her.

“It would get to me! I’d think why am I eating more than others? I’d bring a lighter lunch and then end up starving,” she explained.

“You can’t go for a 10-hour day just having coffee and water.”

These days, when she hears a co-worker declare that they haven’t eaten today, she tries to politely educate them.

“I do call it out! Not in a rude way, but I will just try to explain to them that they don’t have to do that and that you can eat,” she said.

Ms Leia said she doesn’t think diet culture is going away and it is “worse than it has ever been” and you only have to work in an office to realise that.

At the moment, she just tries to lead by example. She’ll bring pasta for lunch and finds it can be a conversation starter.

“I tell people it is a balanced meal,” she said.

Originally published as 27yo worker reveals wild thing that is still normal at workplaces