Reader’s Question

In my office, my coworkers and I keep finding old moldy cups of coffee on the top shelves of the kitchen cabinets. Someone is making coffee and leaving it there to rot. It is such strange behavior and we have no idea who is doing it. Could this person have a dangerous condition?

Thank you, C

Our Clinical Psychologist’s Reply

Probably not a dangerous condition…just lazy, inconsiderate, inattentive, and/or preoccupied. They’ve made a cup of coffee and didn’t like it, being too lazy or inconsiderate to walk to the nearest sink or place to get rid of it properly. If you have several people in an office, you’ll typically have one who is a little obsessive-compulsive (neat and orderly) and another on the other end of the scale — this person. One way to handle this is to post a sign — “Please Place All Used Coffee Cups in the Trash” or something like that. I began working at one agency where they had a “Please Flush” sign over each toilet. They must have had some problems for that sign to be posted. Some people just need to be told to be courteous and considerate to other staff.