But then you phone them at 14:00 and they’ve already left
Reminder: the traditional “9 to 5” workday that is considered “full time” includes lunch. If you’re not getting paid for it or are working 8 to 5 or whatever, you’re getting swindled.
You might say it’s “normal” now, but it only becomes normalized because workers fail to hold the line.
It keeps eroding away. I’ve had skilled jobs where the expectation was 8-5 without any breaks at all. “If you need to eat, you can do it at your desk while you’re working.”
but it only becomes normalized because
workers fail to hold the line.the rich business owners in charge have been busting unions and brainwashing people with anti-union propaganda for decades.Unions have been attempted more times than they’ve succeeded, not because of workers failing, but because powerful people have power and will do whatever dirty tactics they can to keep it.
Unions have been attempted more times than they’ve succeeded
I get what you mean, but I can’t resist the urge to point out that that’s basically a truism. The number of successes must be greater or equal than the number of attempts by definition, since a success without an attempt is not possible.
Because unions stopped shooting back and bombing. Because when cops and Pinkertons shoot strikers the state turns a blind eye.
Breaks are unpaid because that was another way to minimize what workers have to be paid.
Businesses always look for ways to pay their employees less and only change practices when forced.
Without strong unions and support from politicians things tend to get worse and worse.
Too bad that we have neither.
My entire career, I got a one-hour lunch, and two, paid, ten-minute breaks.
I know some will say you’d rather not because that’s just more time at work, but with a one-hour lunch you can leave work, that’s the whole point. It’s a real break. One hour is enough time to go to a restaurant, or you can eat at work, and take a short walk. Half-an-hour is barely enough to time to eat and use the bathroom.
I guess what I’m saying is unionize.
Or live in a state that doesn’t screw you over. 1 hr lunch, two 15 minute breaks for 8 hour shift. Or half hour lunch minimum required after 6 hours work.
This is with or without union.
Being on the clock for lunch is a terrible idea. I like my own time thanks.
In my state in my career path at least the lunch is just used to keep is there for longer operational hours. They want us there 9 but pay for 8 and say we have an hour lunch, that way we’re 8 to 5 instead of 9-5.
I’m a salaried software developer. My first job was 8-5 with a lunch break that we had to take. I asked if I could take it at the start or the end of the day and was told, “No.” So my coworkers and I started playing board games 3-4 times a week during our lunch break in one of the offices. Mainly legacy games like Gloomhaven and Pandemic Legacy. The VP loved showing off the board game room to the interviewees to show that we like to have fun there.
I do miss that job sometimes because it was just raw programming. I was programming or writing SQL queries for over 30 hours a week. No AppSec, no lengthy review process, no bullshit (except the pay, which was ok for Mississippi).
When I worked for a big game studio, we had a clan, as did many of the other big studios in the country. Every lunch we’d join the same servers. Battlefield, TF2, StarCraft… good times. Well, good lunch times.
Still got to leave early, I’ll call that a win.
Seriously though, I really hate that managers hate employees leaving early. Just how controlling do you want to be? Employees are not kids.
I lead small teams doing construction/remodel type work.
It gets real screwy when people start leaving at different times. Those who take lunch end up stuck with extra clean up or fixing last minute issues that pop up.
It also sucks when the office folk leave early and we’re stuck in the field with questions or issues that they need to decide on.
Once in a while, it doesn’t matter, but every day of people working slightly different schedules gets annoying.
For independent work, yeah its ridiculous people are forced to work specific hours for no reason.
In my experience when you loosen the restrictions on specific starting and ending times you get some people who prefer earlier and some people who prefer later and most people will probably be pretty close to traditional most of the time to maintain cooperation across large groups. Sometimes they call it ‘core hours’ when formalizing it in da rules. When most people are working independently then you can get rid of even that.
It’s about power.
That just goes to show how fragile power is.
An american joke i am too european to understand
German law also requires you to take a half hour break in the middle of a >6h work day.
It’s more about reducing fatigue and minimising workplace accidents than workers rights.
I still think it’s a good rule. Sitting on your ass for 8 hours straight isn’t healthy, so no matter the motivation it has positive consequences.
It hurts how true this is. 🥲
Classic Europeans on the Internet trying to make fun of [bad thing that happens in the US] without realising it also happens in Europe
If you work between 6 to 9 hours a day, you are entitled to a 30-minute break after no later than 6 hours. If you work more than 9 hours a day, the break is extended to 45 minutes. Labour law prohibits taking the break at the end of the day’s work in order to leave earlier.
As soon as your daily working time reaches 6 hours immediately, you must have a break of at least 20 minutes consecutive
The break is granted:
- Either immediately after 6 hours of work[, or]
- before this 6-hour period is completed
Employers can say when employees take rest breaks during work time as long as:
- the break is taken in one go somewhere in the middle of the day (not at the beginning or end)
- workers are allowed to spend it away from their desk or workstation (ie away from where they actually work)
American states set their own labour laws, but the ones of the state where I live (Oregon) are actually far more generous than comparable ones in Europe. I am entitled by law during an eight-hour working day to one 30-minute lunch break (not paid) and two additional 10-minute breaks (counts as time worked and is paid). Meaning I get 50 minutes of breaks in a day and the employer has to pay me during 20 minutes of those breaks. My employment contract actually gives me a 1-hour lunch break in addition to the two 10-minute breaks, which isn’t required by law but is not uncommon.
Lunch breaks are required by law, but they are not required to pay you when you take them. So when you work an 8 hour day, you are actually working an 8.5 hour day (8:30 - 17:00) with your .5 hour break at some point in the middle. The joke is basically the guy asking to work 8 hours straight and leave at 16:30 instead of 17:00 and management tossing him out a window.
I don’t think so. Finnish labour laws at least specify breaks, paid and unpaid, can not be at the start or the end of the day. It wouldn’t be a break otherwise.
Wait, so you don’t eat for 8 hours?
No, I normally eat for about ten minutes.
That’s pretty quick.
I eat one big dinner each day, so I go around 23 hours between meals. It takes a little acclimation, but I don’t get “hangry” anymore and can go much longer without effect if something comes up and I have to delay eating.
That’s not a problem at all. I’ve been intermittent fasting for almost 10 years now. Started with 36 hour fasts 3 times a week. Then eventually started following my shift work schedule. If I was evenings I’d eat breakfast and lunch, if I was days I’d only eat supper. Now I’m days only so I only eat supper.
My parents who are almost in their 70’s started doing it a few years back and they lost a ton of weight. The thing I love about fasting is it changes how you deal with hunger. My body being hungry doesn’t really phase me, I’m able to ignore it rather easily. I don’t get stomach aches or headaches. I can mentally tell myself that this is my fasting window and it makes it really easy to not eat.
It’s hard to explain without you actually doing it but it was one of the best choices I’ve made. I’ll never go back.
Not eating lunch and taking a break is bad for your health and potentially undermines your productivity. It’s a bad idea all around.
And that’s why lunch should be paid if it’s inside the workday.
I’ve always noted with a certain cynicism that the old nomenclature for the workday ‘9-5’ adds up to eight hours. Surely these people weren’t missing lunch…
This is how it is at my current job in Denmark. Never experienced it before working in Denmark.
requirements for doing your work efficiently cannot be considered out of work, including transport.
Sleep?
Wait, there’s jobs where people don’t get payed for their lunch break? I thought that was a scary myth.
I work in The Netherlands, same thing. On the other side, I can skip lunch and leave earlier. Or can I have a longer lunch break. But I have to work 8 hrs net.
And I live in Canada and I can do the same!
If they let you take lunch at the end of the day to leave sooner that creates a loophole to say they gave you your lunch break without actually doing so
Half an hour?
Damn.
This is literally what I do every day. I intermittent fast, so I don’t eat until dinner. I work through lunch, take breaks whenever I need to get up and stretch my legs, and leave at ~4:15.
