The lunch break problem

[baskev]

A survey of 1,600 employees from the US and Canada found the following:

• Nearly 20% of North American workers worry their bosses won’t think they are hardworking if they take regular lunch breaks.
• 13% worry their coworkers will judge them if they take lunch breaks.
• 34% of North American bosses consider how often an employee takes a lunch break when evaluating their job performance.
• 22% of North American bosses think that employees who take a regular lunch break are less hardworking.

This is kind of a big problem as far as I can tell. I work hard, and when lunch time comes, I need a big meal and some rest before I plunge back into whatever project I'm working on. I can't imagine being pressured not to take lunch, or being evaluated on my performance based on whether or not I take lunch. I'm a member of a union, so my breaks are mandated and strictly adhered to, but what about everyone else? What can we do to correct this?

https://cdntorkprod.blob.core.window...phic-final.pdf

lol they have breaks. i work 7 to 9 hours shifts without them :P ( work in health care so its normal. bad pay, hours and work rules etc)

[IIamaKing]

You're literally saying nothing while trying to dick ride Endus' argument. How about you try to help him unearth the proof I literally just asked him for instead of being useless? I'll wait.

I have agreed with Endus one time, it was about TV. I agree with him here, its not even that I agree, its just that he is right and you are wrong.

[LiiLoSNK]

I have agreed with Endus one time, it was about TV. I agree with him here, its not even that I agree, its just that he is right and you are wrong.

That means nothing to me, since I don't know who you are or what TV shows you like. Enjoy your 95% at 2.5% instead of 99% at 1%.

[Ghostpanther]

I'll just leave this here:

I agree 30 mins is not enough time to eat lunch if you have to go out and buy it someplace. However, I worked for over 4 years at a job, which we only had 20 mins for lunch and would bring my own lunch for work. I got along fine.

On my last job of 31 years and 21 years of it as a Supervisor, I can say none of the concerns this thread is about, was a concern for myself or those whom I supervised. Because I was not a ass of a supervisor. And my crews of 30+. accomplished award winning performance.

[Dald]

There's been some debate on job sites I've been on (I work in construction) about the fact that some of us will be working on an amenities deck on the very top floor of a parking garage, and when lunch hits, we have to make our way all the way down, and in some cases, they haven't installed the stairs yet, so we have to wind our way down the parking garage like a vehicle would, sans vehicle. So is leaving for lunch 10 minutes early really that crazy? Apparently it is.

We do it anyway. Even in a union there're always circumstances with enough wiggle room to get shorted.

We started just not clocking out. It automatically clocks you out but they want you to manually check out to be accounted for in case of emergency (fire etc) so they know who is and isn't in the building. They get pissy when they catch us.

[callipygoustp]

Sounds like I've been lucky. The last time I had to worry about lunch taken, and the length of time taken, was when I worked retail back in the 80s. Another reason to love the tech industry in the San Francisco bay area.

[IIamaKing]

That means nothing to me, since I don't know who you are or what TV shows you like. Enjoy your 95% at 2.5% instead of 99% at 1%.

Its a phone poll, it should be taken with a grain anyway.

[Antiganon]

I work a standard 40 hour week.

I am regularly expected to work overtime, including weekends sometimes, for no pay, let alone overtime pay.

I am expected to have 72% of my hours billed to a client.

My job mostly involves resolving minor customer issues in roughly 15 minute interactions. Those interactions take about 5 minutes each to document because our system is terrible for tracking support tickets.

I worry about taking a shit, never mind taking a lunch.

[Parhelion]

If you need a certain amount of people doing a job it is important to keep your employees on a schedule and make sure they don't stray from it. Obviously the field of work dictates how flexible companies can be. Imagine you went to your local grocery store but couldn't check out because all the cashiers were on an extended lunch, I imagine you would be pretty pro lunch schedules.

My post was poorly worded, by policing I mean enforcing the concept of 30-minute lunch breaks, which are anything but normal and healthy. The net loss in worker efficiency from poor eating, especially over longer periods of time, easily beats the 6-8% efficiency gains from shorter breaks.

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I work a standard 40 hour week.

I am regularly expected to work overtime, including weekends sometimes, for no pay, let alone overtime pay.

I am expected to have 72% of my hours billed to a client.

My job mostly involves resolving minor customer issues in roughly 15 minute interactions. Those interactions take about 5 minutes each to document because our system is terrible for tracking support tickets.

I worry about taking a shit, never mind taking a lunch.

You're being robbed and you are okay with it, it seems. Your life, thus your hours, are the most valuable thing you'll ever have.

[ghotihook]

I've been in tech for 15 years, I can't even remember ever worrying about my lunch. I typically take an hourish for lunch most days.

[Tiwack]

Get to work commie!

You want a break you've gotta earn it. Hit the desk and keep dreaming like the rest who scorn the unions for giving them a voice.

[Antiganon]

My post was poorly worded, by policing I mean enforcing the concept of 30-minute lunch breaks, which are anything but normal and healthy. The net loss in worker efficiency from poor eating, especially over longer periods of time, easily beats the 6-8% efficiency gains from shorter breaks.

- - - Updated - - -



You're being robbed and you are okay with it, it seems. Your life, thus your hours, are the most valuable thing you'll ever have.

I wasn't okay with it, but I was required to tolerate it while looking for another job. I have a family to feed.

I have since been unceremoniously shitcanned for "insubordination" because they didn't think I was booking enough hours, and their stance was that I was giving away services for free and not logging them, rather than accept the fact that maybe I didn't get 6 hours of calls every day. They did this after having me train my replacement, lying to my face and telling me that my replacement was to be an on-site consultant making client visits rather than an office employee on the support staff, and waiting until a day after I signed a lease on a new apartment, which they knew I was signing because I requested time off to meet the landlord.

My ex boss was a complete fucking bitch. If not for the 3 or 4 decent people who work there, I would hope her company goes under and they all wind up bankrupt.

I'm just lucky they didn't contest my unemployment, or my family would be homeless right now.

[Khaza-R]

I think it all depends.

I could see the negative attitude if your lunch break is coming out of your 8 hours work day. But if you work 8 hours regardless, no one should care how long your lunch is. To expect people not to take lunches at all is insane though.

[beedeehee]

Breaks are for the lazy, and the lazy deserves to be judged, treated, and most importantly, disciplined as such.

[The Stormbringer]

I wonder how a similar survey would look for Japan.

Depressing as fuck.

I personally get a one hour lunch break, though sometimes have to work through it if things are hectic. And I can always come back early and gain whatever remaining time back as time worked, since... well, I'm back at work doing work.

[Molis]

I never think about my employees lunch breaks unless they abuse the time clock.
Then the HR hammer comes down from which no one can be protected from

[beedeehee]

I wonder how a similar survey would look for Japan.

It would be closer to utopia than here.

[Frolk]

12h workday, 2x 45min breaks, ,mandatory that we use 1 (wouldt get paid if we worked in the 45min anyway), but free to work instead of eating during 2nd break, but then i dont live in the US so its hard to compare whats "right" and not.
I also drive a loader so its kinda hard to eat lunch and work at same time.
But working instead of taking lunch seems like a bad thing, unless its in ur contract that u need to work from time to time during lunch break.