Candy dishes

I feel like a trick-or-treater in my office. There are candy dishes everywhere with goodies from chocolates to life savers. Candy dishes seem to be an ubiquitous staple in every white collar office. They are no different than the stapler or sticky note or inbox. It doesn't matter what time of year it is. There are candy dishes filled with chocolates and candies throughout the year. It's no wonder that Americans are getting fatter. We sit on our asses all day and munch our way through mini chocolate bars. Hey, they're tiny! How much damage can they do? Well, if you're eating about 5-7 of the "mini" chocolates, that comes out to quite a bit now, doesn't it??

Well, what purpose do these little trinkets serve? Why do they exist? Who created the tradition of having candy dishes at one's desk? Why more women than men who engage in this activity? No one will ever know, but here's some interesting tid-bits from Fastcompany.com:

"The survey found that while 26% of candy dish owners share office gossip over sweet treats at the candy dish, dish distractions aren't an issue [Thank God, snark added by FC]. Candy dish owners believe they are more organized (46% versus 32% of non-candy dish owners), hard working (63% of candy dish owners consider themselves hard working, versus 37% of their non-candy dish counterparts [Are we on another planet?, FC commentary again], creative (64% versus 46% without a candy dish in the office) and more likely to be team leaders (55% versus 40% of those without a candy dish in the office).
"The delicious data further revealed that those who dish out candy on a regular basus are most likely to be female (69%), Republican (41%), married (56%) and twice as likely as non-candy dish owners to say they were extremely satisfied with their current job [In other words, borderline psychotic suburban women stuck in loveless marriages on a middling path to nowhere, interpretation added]."
"The survey also found that there are many 'bonuses' to being a candy dish owner--not only are candy dish owners perceived to be more friendly (41%), more candy dish owners also received a financial bonus in the past year (43%) than non-candy dish owners (37%). While we know of no company that requires candy dishes as part of a job description [My God! Could this be right!?], sixty percent of survey respondents with candy dishes also reported that they received a raise last year, while 49% of non candy-dish owners reported getting a raise over the same period."