Rant time. Lunch breaks are a fucking scam. Hear me out.
We’re made to believe that a mandatory 30 minute, unpaid, lunch is somehow a victory for workers rights. Tell me, do you really feel like you’re taking a break from work in those 30 minutes? Or are you still thinking about work? Are you still in “work mode”? Well guess what, that’s 30 minutes of you thinking about work and not relaxing that they are stealing from you. Your workday isn’t 8 hours, it’s 8 and a half hours. That 30 minutes isn’t really yours, it’s not enough time to get anything done. You don’t agree? Go get drunk during your lunch break. Oh what’s that? You can’t because you’ll face consequences at work? Well gee, sounds like that time doesn’t actually belong to you then if you’re not free to do whatever you want.
It used to be a job was 9-5. That’s 8 hours. Total. You either had a paid lunch, or you ate on the job. But it was PART of those 8 hours. I don’t know about you, but if I’m not getting paid for it, I don’t want to be at work a second longer than I have to. I’ve had a few jobs that let me work through lunch and it was great, I could keep working and eat at my desk and I was out of the door 30 minutes before the rest of my co-workers. Jobs that force me to take a lunch are BS. I don’t need 30 minutes to eat a sandwich, and the remaining time is NOT relaxing. I don’t get to unwind from work. I am instead filled with rage that I’m just wasting time, not getting paid, in order to uphold the illusion that the company “values our time”, when really they’re just holding us hostage.
Mandatory, unpaid, “breaks” are just a form of wage theft.
But usually it’s 1h-1h30-2h. Which can be sort of exhausting in the other way. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super, but 2h? You’re like supposed to catch that up and stay later. Legally or not, that’s how the system is here in France.
That’s why work from home (or 1 day in the office to meet up for a long lunch which actually makes sense) is soo good, I can skip lunch if I’m not into the mood, or eat whenever I want.
I worked a retail job many years ago where store management even told employee they couldn’t leave the building during their 30 minute break since “there wasn’t enough time and you’d be late coming back.”
The companies legal department set the record straight on that one when they caught wine of it but I’m pretty sure there were never any consequences for the management.
Rant time. Lunch breaks are a fucking scam. Hear me out.
We’re made to believe that a mandatory 30 minute, unpaid, lunch is somehow a victory for workers rights. Tell me, do you really feel like you’re taking a break from work in those 30 minutes? Or are you still thinking about work? Are you still in “work mode”? Well guess what, that’s 30 minutes of you thinking about work and not relaxing that they are stealing from you. Your workday isn’t 8 hours, it’s 8 and a half hours. That 30 minutes isn’t really yours, it’s not enough time to get anything done. You don’t agree? Go get drunk during your lunch break. Oh what’s that? You can’t because you’ll face consequences at work? Well gee, sounds like that time doesn’t actually belong to you then if you’re not free to do whatever you want.
It used to be a job was 9-5. That’s 8 hours. Total. You either had a paid lunch, or you ate on the job. But it was PART of those 8 hours. I don’t know about you, but if I’m not getting paid for it, I don’t want to be at work a second longer than I have to. I’ve had a few jobs that let me work through lunch and it was great, I could keep working and eat at my desk and I was out of the door 30 minutes before the rest of my co-workers. Jobs that force me to take a lunch are BS. I don’t need 30 minutes to eat a sandwich, and the remaining time is NOT relaxing. I don’t get to unwind from work. I am instead filled with rage that I’m just wasting time, not getting paid, in order to uphold the illusion that the company “values our time”, when really they’re just holding us hostage.
Mandatory, unpaid, “breaks” are just a form of wage theft.
Where I live its minimum 45min paid lunchtime.
But usually it’s 1h-1h30-2h. Which can be sort of exhausting in the other way. Don’t get me wrong, it’s super, but 2h? You’re like supposed to catch that up and stay later. Legally or not, that’s how the system is here in France.
That’s why work from home (or 1 day in the office to meet up for a long lunch which actually makes sense) is soo good, I can skip lunch if I’m not into the mood, or eat whenever I want.
Bold assumption that I wasn’t doing this already.
My last week at one of my jobs I was just drinking at my desk
I worked a retail job many years ago where store management even told employee they couldn’t leave the building during their 30 minute break since “there wasn’t enough time and you’d be late coming back.”
The companies legal department set the record straight on that one when they caught wine of it but I’m pretty sure there were never any consequences for the management.
https://sh.itjust.works/comment/20638345