Eating on the job.

I personally don't think there's anything wrong with it. But my female co worker got into trouble for bringing a hot dog (one hot dog with ketchup on it) to her desk to eat. Her excuse was that she didn't have enough time to grab the food from the nearby hot dog truck and eat it within the half hour allotted time slot. And it was only one hot dog. Plus she had brought napkins with her so any ketchup spills could be prevented. I also have another co worker who needs to eat every two hours. He gets very light headed unless his stomach isn't nourished. Again, they're pissed. But he uses the vending machines. BFD. If management is going to pitch a fit over something so ridiculous, then have a forty five minute to hour long lunch break. It's ridiculous that in this day and age, people are still getting half hour breaks. School kids get more than a measely half hour.

• They are worried about lost productivity from the obsessives who catalog what everyone else eats.

• Oh my!

• Fuck corporations.

• There are really jobs that care about you eating at your desk? Unless you are interacting with customers or work somewhere where safety/contamination was an issue I didn't think that was ever an issue.

• What is your job?

• They don't want to get in trouble with labor laws.

• They tell us we can eat at our desks but can't have the computer on. There has to be no way that we are actually working during our lunch (1/2 hour as well) otherwise they have to pay us. Nobody pays attention though. We mostly surf the web.

• Wow, some of you people have it bad. I've had a full hour for lunch at every job I've held, and no problem eating at desk. This has been true since 1991, even when I was a low paid twink just starting out. The only exception being, there is a cultural understanding that you don't eat stinky food at your desk. Fish, or greasy french fries, or mega-garlicky stuff.

• I don't get why people would choose to eat at their desks if they have an option. I love to get away from work during lunch.

• R9 - well over 1/3 of Americans eat their lunch at their desk because they have to work so much. I'm one of them. I went out to lunch today only because my boss was sick. Last time I did this was...4 months ago? I go out to lunch probably 10 times a year.

• r10, I supervise many people and it's important to me that my staff don't feel so overworked that they can't enjoy their lunches. Come work for me!

  R9

• People eating at thier desks are slobs. Crumbs get in the keyboard and under the desk and in the drawers. And guess what? Ants, roaches and rodents come. I've seen it. No thanks. What is the big deal to eat in the break room that is provided? People need to plan better.

• [quote] What is the big deal to eat in the break room that is provided? Not every workplace has a break room.

• [quote] School kids get more than a measely half hour. Yes, but it's at 10:25 a.m.

• No, school kids usually get half an hour or less, and that includes standing in line and bathroom break. And no recess any more because of mandated material. It's why we have fatter kids, one reason any way. If your co worker needs time, could she not arrange to come in a half hour earlier so she can take a full hour?

• Most people I know go grab food or coffee throughout the day and come back to their desk. I can't even imagine working somewhere, and you're forced to not have a computer on while you're eating lunch or taking a break or some manager is watching what you eat. I hate break rooms. Also if you frequently have meetings, lunch can take two hours. We get our work done and are treated like adults.

• If she had a tuna sandwich, no problem. Hot dogs smell.

• [quote] I can't even imagine working somewhere, and you're forced to not have a computer on while you're eating lunch or taking a break Where I work, the rationale for that rule is to keep non-exempt employees from claiming that they were made to work during their (unpaid) lunch breaks. The rule doesn't apply to exempt professional staff, who all work at their desks while they wolf down some food.

• [quote]If she had a tuna sandwich, no problem. Hot dogs smell. What kind of tuna do you eat that does not smell?

• OP, anyone who eats a hot dog with KETCHUP deserves to be fired on the spot!

• I can't remember having a job where people did not eat at their desk. I can smell co-workers heating up their lunches from about 11am on.

• I am a desk diner. I am having lunch right now. I prefer to eat at my deck and surf the web for 15 or 20 minutes as a break. My company has a nice cafeteria but I usually bring food or get it to go. In the summer, we have several nice patio areas, and on a nice day I will go out for a half hour or so. Technically, we have a one hour unpaid lunch break, but no one ever takes a whole hour unless they have errands or a dr's appointment.

• The office is a workplace, not a food court with cubicles.

• Do you want ants? Because that's how you get ants.

  Malory%20Archer

• Working through lunch is the worst example of reverse "time theft" (a term from Walmart to describe workers not working while still on the clock.) If the boss doesn't give you extra money; don't give extra time. I'm lucky enough to go out for lunch every day (working in midtown Manhattan.) Even if I have a brown paper bag on a bench, taking a lunch BREAK is the best thing you can do. Going for a walk is a great stress reliever and burns calories. Your work will still be there when you get back in 60 minutes.

• US workers have no leisure or labor protections. Primitive, our culture. Okay, reactionaries, crank it up. Shout me down. And, it's going to get worse, not better. There is no sensibility that includes mutuality in our culture. Too criminal, too angry, too ignorant. I wish us a happier population, but I don't think the persons with the wherewithal to enact it understand human environment any better than they understand natural environment.

  Bored%20yet%3F

• You eat at a table NOT a desk. I guess you shit at your desk too? Your momma raised a pig.