Manager insisting I take lunch

When I was teaching, my room became the departmental lunch room , we were a long way from the staff room and my room had a sink and a kettle. One of my department used to bring the smelliest Pot Noodles in to use the kettle but I did ask her to take them elsewhere to eat them!

You should take regular screen breaks for your eyesight, and a bit of fresh air and daylight at lunch time is really important.

You need to ask exactly what the problem is.

Are you munching away whilst your boss is trying work? Perhaps she has an aversion to people eating at their desks.....

I eat at my desk whilst working then go out for a walk on my break. Clears my head nicely for the rest of the day amd makes for a more productive afternoon!

No you can’t be forced to eat in the canteen area, but you also cant choose to have your lunch while working if it’s on works time just to get home earlier. If you work more than 6 hours legally you have to have a break.

I can't see anywhere in the OP where the the manager has said she needs to go to the canteen and socialise. What she has said is that the OP needs to take a break, whether that be go for a walk, go for a drive etc. I really can't see how the OP is so upset by this.

Yeah but it’s the “feeding back” that makes it more than that. Did you “feedback” that Jenny and a wedding this weekend or that Bob had a birthday party? Feeding back work related stuff is, to me, snooping on colleagues. I’d be raging if a colleague fed back something I’d been privately venting about at lunch. It’s up to me to decide what gets fed back, not anyone else.

I think perhaps some posters who say you must take a break because of legal requirements don't necessarily appreciate the realities of working in a full-on office-based role. I'd rather work through lunch (while eating) than take along break and finish later. Time at home is more precious than free time in the office. I'd say that to your boss and that you'd actively prefer to keep going to get as much done so you can go home to your family. You are then showing her that you're taking an active choice to do what you're doing. Given the amount of extra hours you do anyway, it seems disingenuous for her to be so concerned about your work balance that you must spend time in the canteen away from your desk.

With that in mind, is this just about assuaging her conscience? Or has there been feedback that you're not mucking in? Or does she want you to be more integrated into the business because it reflects well on her?

We tend to have unpaid lunch breaks so this is usually the reason for it. Do you work through and leave early? I used to manage a woman who did this and other staff complained a bit as they didn’t have that luxury in their roles. Is lunch hour set or can you go to the canteen earlier or later to miss the groups? Or maybe just to eat for a portion of your break then go back to it?

We do not allow staff to work through lunch,or if they do they can’t take it off their working hours

I'm literally having a lovely lunch break at my desk eating my home made salad and catching up on MN and the news. I would hate to be forced to go and sit on a bench or barge into someone's table in a noisy canteen. After a morning of solid meetings I'm enjoying having my headphones off and time to myself.

PP is correct you are entitled to a break but they cannot tell you how to spend it. It's not like you are working in a factory or shop where breaks are formally scheduled.

I don't think that's what's happening- her boss is just trying to encourage her to take the breaks she is legally entitled to (and should honestly take for her own wellbeing).

You should be able to do your job in your contractual hours. This toadying culture of working over your hours and giving the company free labour creates a sweatshop precedent for everyone and as a colleague I would not thank you for it either.

Counterintuitively, taking regular breaks actually makes people more effective and it helps well-being. It’s a win win.

"Employee, did your employer encourage you to take breaks"

"Yes"

"Did you ever raise a concern regarding workloads or hours worked?"

"No

"were you forced to work extra hours?"

"no"

"OK, tribunal finds in employers favour and awards costs"

Is how a tribunal would go in this instance.

Infact, it wouldn't get to a tribunal tbh.

Hardly snooping. Just getting to know your colleagues.

As someone who has cleaned offices please don’t eat at your desk. No one ever thinks they are messy but they are. Crumbs and sticky bits, contaminating paper bins with apple cores and food wrappers.

A break is mandatory after 6 hours, I think it just needs to be 20 minutes though so just go find somewhere else to eat.

If you can’t take a break for lunch and regularly work over your hours I think your workload needs looking at. Occasionally being mega busy and going the extra mile is one thing but when it becomes standard there is a problem.

Are you able to take your holiday entitlement?

This. Ask (gently) what it is that she has the issue with.

The workloads would only be a poss issue if op raises it as one.

A lot of people just love their job and being busy. My job doesnt end, ops job may be the same and she just enjoys it.

Sorry to be blunt. But you are a mug if you are working extra hours for no extra recognition or pay and don’t take your entitled break.

it actually indicates you are struggling - or can be perceived that way.

just go for a walk

Just say you are comfortable eating alone at your desk, and you will try and slow down or stop work for half an hour if possible, but sometimes it's easier to work through.
I think she wants reassurance you are not feeling sidelined or overworked. Maybe do try and go for a walk or something on some days, when the weather is nice, just for 15 mins. It probably will help break up the day.

I insisted that everyone i line managed took their lunch. Also i don't want to nurture a culture of desk eating. Proper well rested staff work better and are more productive. You can always take that time to go for a walk if you prefer but take a break you must

I'm gobsmacked by the responses to this. I'd be furious if my manager tried to tell me how to manage my work day. It's infantilising bullshit imo.

@megifer yes you are right that there’s no law saying an employee ‘must’ take a break but with the OP regularly working over her hours and over weekends, even with the company advising her to take breaks, this could be seen as not enabling her to take breaks due to workload. Being too busy amounts to a failure on the employer’s part to enable the employee to exercise their right to a break. There are tribunal outcomes relating to this.

But that’s almost like snooping working on your lunch break! Plus, OP doesn’t enjoy it so it’s irrelevant that you did.

@Shanna8 - I had a desk job once where one of the team (same grade) would go round offices at lunchtime forcing people to go to the staff room! It was an academic post and I very much kept my own diary so it drove me nuts - if I want to eat at my desk, I will! I also rarely took time away from work as spent lunch catching up with emails etc. (but see my point below).

Agree with others that you need to speak directly to your boss to find a solution. She is obliged to make sure you have a break and if you were to say go off with stress, not having a lunch break could be seen as a factor.

Maybe she’d be happy with something like you take your break in the office but put a notice on your door saying “at lunch, will return at X time” or something like that so it is transparent that you are taking your legal break. I get what you mean though about preferring to work through and get the work done - I felt like that too and it contributed to me developing acute stress and a drinking problem as it’s not sustainable.