An employee's lunch theft woes and his drastic solution recently drew attention online in a tale that other office workers may relate to or understand.In a viral post on Reddit, the employee said his workplace offers a communal kitchen with one fridge."Over the past month, my lunch has been stolen five times," the Reddit user said. "Not just random snacks. Entire homemade meals I bring from home, gone without a trace."SCAM LEAVES RESTAURANT WAITRESS STUNNED AS DINERS LAUGH IN HER FACE: 'WHY IS THIS THE NORM?'He added, "Its not just frustrating, its expensive and messes up my day."In an office group chat, the worker asked the unknown lunch thief to stop but no one took responsibility.His solution? The desk jockey bought a mini-fridge and placed it under his desk, complete with a lock "just for extra peace of mind.""Since then, no more stolen lunches," he wrote in his post.But his solution was not well-received.The Redditor reported that one of his co-workers confronted him and called the fridge "weird and selfish."MAN 'DISGUSTED' AT FOOD FROM GIRLFRIEND'S CULTURE TAKES HEAT ON SOCIAL MEDIA"She said it made me look paranoid and not part of the team," the original poster recalled. "I said I was tired of my food being stolen, and this was the only solution that worked."He added, "She said I shouldve just brought stuff I wouldnt care about losing, like snacks or microwave meals, if I was so worried."Since then, the employee has been subjected to snide remarks about locking up his lunch, he said, and he's "starting to feel like the weirdo in the office just for protecting my stuff."He asked others if he was wrong for "locking up my lunch instead of letting this keep happening?"WORKER'S UNUSUAL LUNCH SPOT BACKFIRES AFTER UNCOMFORTABLE CONFRONTATION: 'WAS I BEING DISRESPECTFUL?'Commenters on the post, which attracted over 20,000 upvotes, almost unanimously sided with the frustrated office worker."[S]ounds like [the other co-worker] is hangry now that she doesn't have free lunch," one person wrote."I'd immediately get in contact with HR about theft and bullying," a second user said."Just give the same energy back," another person advised. "They are treating it like a joke, so keep it at a joke level. Don't be serious."Others thought the story was so outrageous it had to have been fabricated."There's no way this is real lol," one person speculated."Which AI did you use to write this story?" another said.CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTERFox News Digital spoke with Diane Gottsman, a Texas-based etiquette expert, to determine whether the office worker overreacted to the loss of his lunches."When you work in an office and have a communal kitchen, stealing someone elses food is not only childish and sneaky, but completely disrespectful," Gottsman advised."It shows a lack of consideration," the decorum pro added. "This person attempted to bring it to everyones attention by mentioning it in a group chat, but perhaps another option would be to go directly to the supervisor to address it more formally."Gottsman, who owns the etiquette-focused Protocol School of Texas, said the office seemed to be "full of cliques and bullies.""People making comments about a small fridge under someones desk is petty," she observed."Its simply not their business, much like any other item someone would bring to the office, like a fan or a favorite lamp for their desk."For more Lifestyle articles, visit foxnews.com/lifestyleGottsman added, "And, in this case, no, it was not in poor taste. They are trying to bring their lunch, purchased a small fridge they put under their desk, out of sight, and added a lock because there are strong indicators that food has been taken and it could happen again."Gottsman encouraged the office worker to keep his chin up, and that the office bullies "will move on to another office situation."She suggested, "Get with the supervisor, manager, owner of the company or HR to use your voice positively and respectfully.""Taking something from the kitchen, from a cabinet, from a shelf or anywhere else is theft whether its a sandwich, a stapler or money."