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The Obelix effect: having to eat alone
March 27, 2025
Unfortunately, this issue occurs in many offices: The Obelix effect. This is the social phenomenon of sitting away from colleagues at lunch and eating alone. Why this is unhealthy and what you can do about it if you are affected by it will be explained below.
What is the Obelix effect?
Pretty much everyone knows the well-known Asterix comics. In addition to Asterix, Obelix plays an important role, as he fell into a pot of magic potion as a child and has been the strongest Gaul in the village ever since.
For this reason, he is never allowed to join in when all the other Gauls gather around the pot with the potion to take their portion.
Time and again, Obelix can be seen standing sadly on the sidelines with Idefix, his little dog, pulling a face. Sometimes Obelix also tries to make himself particularly small or to disguise himself in order to get a sip inconspicuously, but he is not allowed to. In the end, Obelix is always left out.
This situation can be transferred to the lunch break in the office, when all colleagues go out to eat together but one person is left out. Be it because he was not asked or was deliberately excluded – he will have to eat his lunch alone.
How important is the lunch break?
Having lunch together is very important
The lunch break is important. Everyone needs some time to switch off, get some exercise, get some fresh air and, of course, eat something. But beyond that, the work break is also a social happening on a small scale.
Over lunch, you can chat with colleagues, exchange the most important gossip and find common ground.
These small private conversations always build trust and create a better working atmosphere, which automatically has an effect on the work.
Who goes out to eat with whom also says something about the constellation in a company.
- Who sets the tone?
- Who suggests the locations?
- Who takes matters into their own hands and gets their colleagues together?
- Who is always courted and can even afford to be unpunctual?
The answers to these questions indicate a person’s popularity. The lunch break thus becomes a barometer of popularity. And those who are not appreciated have to play alone, just like back in school.
Reasons why colleagues avoid you
Let’s stay in the past for a while and think back to the children who were shunned at school back then. Had they done something wrong? Were they stupid? Did they stink? No, but maybe their food did. And just as illogically as children were shunned at school back then, our adult colleagues are shunned today. In most cases, these obelixes can’t help it. And yet there are reasons why a colleague is not asked to come to lunch.
One of these reasons may be that, as mentioned above, he is one of the self-caterers in the office who takes his food from home. If this meal smells strong, the likelihood that other people will not want to witness this eating spectacle increases. The meal doesn’t even have to smell strong; it’s enough if you’ ve given the signal in the first week that you’d rather eat alone. After the third refusal, you will probably no longer be asked if you would like to go along out of politeness. In contrast to your school days, you can take matters into your own hands and simply let your colleagues know that you would like to go with them. Take the initiative too!
The latter falls under the heading of marketing yourself incorrectly. In a new office with new colleagues, you first have to show who you are and make new acquaintances. So instead of heating your food in the microwave or realizing your dietary ambitions with the cabbage soup diet at the office table – go out, talk to people, get some fresh air together and eat. Ask your colleagues to show you around, they’re sure to know the best places to eat and relax. The small talk topics here range from the weather to Mars, you just have to take your chances.
Don’t let yourself be Obelixed!
Don’t let other people drive you into isolation and more importantly, don’t sabotage yourself by giving in to isolation
So far, we’ve only highlighted the points that affect you interpersonally, but your habits also affect your job. Because it doesn’t look professional when one of your superiors enters the office and you spoon up your 5-minute tureen. Sounds like a cheap lunch alternative at first, but it has a bad effect on your image. A job is a job and you shouldn’t let yourself go completely during your lunch break. Apart from the fact that it looks unprofessional to eat your sandwich at your desk, your chances of moving up in the company increase if you get on well with your colleagues.
The solution is quite simple: take a break from work with your colleagues and signal that you are interested in their presence. Get some fresh air together and have a chat.
Do whatever you feel like doing during your break, but don’t do it alone.
