C is for cookie, just not in the office, please.

I’m going to admit something to you: I am on a diet. So, of course that means I’m always thinking about junk food.

Cookies, to be precise.

You know which cookies are the best? Thin Mints. Oh man, so chocolaty and minty and crunchy and perfect. But they’re very hard to come by. Unless, of course, you know a girl scout.

Must…resist…

Which brings me to a very odd office phenomenon: parents bringing in their kids’ cookie order forms. It’s been going on since the dawn of time (or the dawn of order forms, anyway), but as cnn.com asks in this debate, is it really fair to guilt your coworkers into buying?

Maybe you have a lot of willpower. (I don’t, especially when it comes to girl scout cookies, but I know some people must.) But even if you’re on the strictest of diets, even if you’re broke, even if you’re allergic to chocolate, some how you end up buying the cookies from your coworkers.

I mean, how could you say no? How could you not support little Sally’s troop–without your contribution the poor girls will never make it to space camp. Plus, do you really want to make an enemy in the office? Sure, Mrs. Little Sally, who is your office manager, says she doesn’t care if you buy a box. But she’ll remember. Oh yes, she’ll remember. And suddenly your shipment of rainbow post-its “mysteriously” disappears.

As human resources professionals, what do you think of people strong-arming their colleagues into buying from their kids? Should personal sales be allowed in the office place? Or am I just bitter because I haven’t had a cookie in what seems like forever (and angry that my parents would never sell cookies for me at their jobs)? Have I become the proverbial cookie monster? And most importantly, what’s your favorite type of cookie? Leave your crumbs of wisdom below.

Jessica Livingston
Editor
jessica.livingston@e-bim.com