Co-workers work through their lunch break

November 12, 2014 11:07 AM

How can I not appear lazy to co-workers for not working during break?

Hi, everyone. I started a temp job and it seems okay so far. It just sucks my trainer left after a couple days training. Anyways, this is a big company but small office with just three of us now. The two women work through their lunch break and continue to answer phones and take orders while eating. There's no break room here so I can sit at my desk or in my car...

I feel bad if I don't answer phones while I'm eating so I do. It kind of burns me out that I don't take a break. I'm allowed but I feel bad because everyone else doesn't really. Well they more so break up their times like 10 min break here and there where I prefer one straight hour.

Should I fit in with the work culture to work while eating and stuff? I have been doing this for a week and my brain is fried from no break. So I sit in the coffee shop next door to get away from it all.

posted by Asian_Hunnie to Society & Culture (23 answers total)

Are you paid by the hour, like a typical temp? If so, I'd think that all the interests are aligned: you could work through your lunch and be paid an extra hour, or you could rationally choose to take your full lunch hour and forgo that extra income. You can't be expected to work for free, so if you choose not to work, you're choosing not to be paid. I don't see how anyone could huff over that.

And, in any event, you're a temp. I've been a temp and I've hired temps and no one expects a temp to work through lunch, in my experience. And if they did, fuck 'em, you're a temp, so who care what they think. You'll move on soon enough.

In short: don't sweat it.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 11:14 AM on November 12, 2014 [14 favorites]

Ask your office manager what is expected. I would go by what they expect. I used to work in restaurant work where no one took breaks even for an 8h shift, despite gov't regulations. I'm like you, I need my breaks but when I took them it did backfire for me in terms of workplace attitudes. What that taught me is that restaurant work is not for my temperament. (But restaurant work culture is a whole other beast.)

Of course this is just a temp job and if you won't need references or future work, then you can take that into account too. As long as you are busy and efficient the other times.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 11:16 AM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

I would also ask someone. They probably will either say yes, no problem, or else say ok in a way that really means no- the manager can't really tell you you can't take a break in an 8-hour shift because that would be against the law, I think.

I previously had a job where nobody took lunch in an 8-hour shift and it was expected we would not despite it being technically allowed (and we would have to find someone to cover for us if we did). I got burned out quickly and simply had to leave (was working with 3-5 year olds!). So if I were you I'd take the break and if they can't deal, its the not the right job for you and you can get another temp job. Your health and sanity is not worth this job in the long run.

If they are fine with you taking the break, then take it!
posted by bearette at 11:23 AM on November 12, 2014

So you're entitled to 60 minutes break time, and since your co-workers take 10 minutes here and there, it sounds like your workplace is actually quite flexible about when and how you take that 60 minutes.

You need a break, or else you're going to burn out. I think you're going to have to keep leaving the building during lunch, or you will feel guilty about not answering the ringing phones. You can't really have a break at your desk if your job is phone reception--it doesn't work (I speak from previous experience as front desk reception). Continuing to go to the local coffee shop sounds like a good solution, but if you are finding it too expensive to eat there daily and it's not too cold outside, maybe you can go for a walk to a nearby park and eat your packed lunch there.

If you feel like it might be onerous on your co-workers to leave two of them answering the phones for a full hour, maybe you could take a 15 minute break in the morning and one in the afternoon, and 30 minutes at lunch time. Just make sure you're taking your full 60 minutes.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 11:23 AM on November 12, 2014 [3 favorites]

The worst job I ever had was a temp job in an office similar to this. Everyone came in at 7:00, worked until about 5:30, ate at their desks--and it was miserable and dysfunctional. I worked there for a month and saw my supervisor crying at her desk twice. One woman was hired in the time I was there (to take over the job I was temping for) and quit after 3 days. It would have been very easy to give in to the culture and make myself miserable, too. None of the current employees seemed to think it was that weird or understand why they couldn't keep people.

If you're not comfortable going to the coffee shop, consider bringing in some very noticeable headphones to put on, and alert them that you're "at lunch" from 12:00-1:00, even if you're sitting at your desk. Read a book or play on your phone. If you get any pushback, as Admiral Haddock said, look confused and ask how to fill out your time sheet if you aren't taking a real lunch break. Unless you're gunning for a permanent position there, there's no reason to give in to this.
posted by almostmanda at 11:25 AM on November 12, 2014 [6 favorites]

If you're a temp and paid by the hour, and they are permanent employees and salaried (or even if they're perm and paid by the hour) you can't really compare your actions to theirs. Can you leave (walk or drive somewhere else) on your lunch break? That would make it feel less awkward, but if that's not possible, can you do something like read or study? Other things I've known office temps to do: just sit in their car during lunch, or walk around the parking lot for exercise.

IIRC, when I was temping I wasn't allowed to work more hours than the agency and employer had agreed on. Even if I had wanted to work through lunch for that extra $8, I couldn't. Check to see if this applies to you as well.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 11:26 AM on November 12, 2014 [7 favorites]

Oh, whoops - I missed the coffee shop line. That sounds like the perfect solution, unless you don't like the environment in there.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 11:28 AM on November 12, 2014

I don't blame you for being burned out. I say just take your lunch break out in your car. You can always cite labor laws if questioned. At least in California employers must give employees a 30 min break before they hit their fifth hour of work if they're working more than six hours in a shift. Can you take less than an hour for lunch and 10-15 minute breaks here and there like your coworkers?
posted by book 'em dano at 11:28 AM on November 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

If this is a temp job where you aren't hoping to stay long-term and you aren't going to use it as a reference in a job search, then do whatever you want. It might feel less awkward for you if you leave during lunch. Sitting there and not answering a ringing phone clearly makes you feel guilty or pressured to work while having lunch. Go out for lunch. If you're desperate for a break, but don't need to go somewhere to eat, drive your car a block to some other parking lot where you won't see co-workers and hang out for an hour.

I would warn you though that at some places, when you get a real job you want to keep for a long time, they may be like this office, and you may have to cope with taking breaks and moments to relax in small chunks on your own, separate from lunchtime. If this is dearly important to you though, understand the office culture before accepting a job.
posted by AppleTurnover at 11:32 AM on November 12, 2014

"Hey, Sue, could you clarify for me what the lunch policy is? They said when I started that it's 8 hours work, 8:30-5:30 with half an hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks [or whatever you were told, and/or what you want]. Obviously it's important that someone be at reception at all times, so do I just need to check in with you and Beth before I take lunch, to be sure we don't all leave at once?"

Especially if they're salaried and you're a temp, it's reasonable to assume that they're operating under different rules. Presumably at some point in your hiring, HR told you how long your lunch break is (or at least when to show up and when to go home, and since you're paid for 8 hour days, that tells you how long your lunch break is).
"I mean, I've seen you and Beth taking customer calls while you're eating, is that in your contract?"

If they try to tell you that they do this purely because they're good employees and that's what good employees do around here, you can say things about your contract:
"I know the temp agency doesn't want me working unbilled time."
Or you can say things about your productivity:
"It really helps me if I can get away from my desk, and move around a bit" or "I've found that it really hurts my focus when I don't have any chance to stand up and get a mental break"

If they try to say they're super busy and can't possibly manage if you leave the room, repeat that you really need to take a break if they expect you to stay focused the rest of the day, and perhaps propose a compromise, a different time, or two half-hour chunks instead of a whole hour. "If the 12-1 hour is a busy one, what's the lowest call volume - maybe 1:30-2:30? I could take my lunch then, instead."
posted by aimedwander at 11:54 AM on November 12, 2014 [4 favorites]

Please take the breaks you are entitled to. I feel like when some coworkers start to work through breaks for whatever reason, it spreads to others who don't want to look bad next to them, and then people wind up in this position. You are legally entitled to a certain amount of break time, and people fought for this. People work better when they aren't burned out.
posted by fiercecupcake at 12:01 PM on November 12, 2014 [24 favorites]

Yes- be prepared for the, "oh, things are too busy for anyone to take a lunch break" mentality- that is what I experienced. It's like, technically they allow it but because things are "too busy" everyone must do their part and not take a lunch break.

Anyway, I would still take my break no matter what they said, and find another job if they can't deal with it, especially since this is a temp job.

I think this is unfair BS that no one should have to put up with.
posted by bearette at 12:03 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

If you ask and the office comes back to you with a sheet of paper waiving your right to a lunch break, remember you are not obliged to sign. You are well within your right to say "no and I need to run this past my temp agency." If they really cannot deal with you taking a lunch break, find another temp job.
posted by kariebookish at 12:08 PM on November 12, 2014 [4 favorites]

At my company I am entitled to a 60 min lunch break but if I take it I then have to make up the time by working an extra hour. I'm guessing your co-workers would rather go home at the end of the 8 hours and forego the lunch break.
posted by Dragonness at 1:19 PM on November 12, 2014

I run what I hope is a super-awesome-laid-back office and it's just hard to take breaks at my desk or anyone else's. It's hard to sit there and impose a break time as long as one hour while sitting at the place where you work. Part of the problem is that people don't know you're on break. Because, you're sitting at your desk. And we've been conditioned all our lives to answer the phone when it rings.

As others have said, I'd clarify whether you're getting paid for 8 hours and only sitting in the office for 8 hours, and whether there's an option to be there a bit longer and work some breaks in. I'd definitely use the temp agency's rules as a stick if possible. And I think your best bet is to go sit in the coffee shop next door (or do you have a break room in your office?) when you really need to take a break.

And sometimes I sit at my desk and look like I'm typing and presumably answering emails when I'm really on AskMefi...
posted by randomkeystrike at 1:35 PM on November 12, 2014

Response by poster: Great idea! 15-30 min split is good. I know I get kinda antsy after one hour and don't know what to do with myself lol
posted by Asian_Hunnie at 1:48 PM on November 12, 2014

Screw the management for allowing this, and screw coworkers that don't take their lunch breaks and 15 minute breaks. It's against the flippin' law to force you to do this.

And let me tell you, anytime I've worked at a job that coworkers righteously proclaimed that they take their breaks during the day 10 minutes at a time meant that they took twice as much time as they would have been allowed had they taken their allotted time.

God, how I used to hate the people that ate their lunch and 'needed' a smoke break--10 times a day for 10 minutes. And management smoked too, so they bought into it!
posted by BlueHorse at 1:53 PM on November 12, 2014

Response by poster: By the way it's funny because I work for the staff agency. But it's temp to hire..

The girl told me she started as temp but it wasn't for another year til they hired her! You get some temp benefits though. If hired 3 weeks vacation pay you're entitled to but it starts from accumulating from that point of permanent hire.

I think I'll continue to eat and then go to the coffee shop to hang out or sit in my car if I have to.
posted by Asian_Hunnie at 2:39 PM on November 12, 2014

Yeah, LEAVE THE BUILDING if you don't want to have to answer the phones. At my job, if you don't leave during lunch people will constantly be bothering you and asking you questions about work.
posted by jenfullmoon at 5:37 PM on November 12, 2014

It's quite likely that they do this to 1. get more hours (if they are hourly) and 2. because there is no break room and they don't want to bother with going to their car. A group of 3 people isn't really a full-fledged culture. It's probably just a habit they've gotten into.

Why not try some fact-finding? "Hey Sue do you ever go out for lunch? Know any good places around here?" Her answer will tell you something about what is expected vs. what is just habit.

Maybe they never leave because they don't want to leave one person in charge for a whole hour, and that's what they had to do before you came.
posted by emjaybee at 7:30 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

Ask your boss if you can work through lunch and leave an hour early every day. The answer will be no, and there you have it. "Boss told me I couldn't."
posted by ctmf at 9:33 PM on November 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

I've worked temp a lot and the people you should be asking is your AGENCY and not your assignment. They're your employer of record and on the hook for any labor law violations. Most US states have laws about when lunch should be taken and when so I would ask your agency and not the (probably) salaried (probably) workaholics at your assignment.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:28 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

In permanent jobs I have spoken to colleagues about working through their lunchbreaks and weekends. It's pretty unfair on anyone who believes in workers rights if you think about it. It simply raises the bar of what is expected in terms of work done and makes everyone else who does take the break they are entitled to pale in comparison.. because they need a break to not go insane.
posted by tanktop at 9:45 AM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]