too long a working day with too small a break?

[bananaandcustard]

Does anyone think a work shift of 9-6 with a 30 min break is too difficult?
very physical and mentally stressful job.

I work an 8-5 shift on occasion which is same hours but I get 15 mins X 2, 30 mins X 1 and sometimes an extra 15. All computer based though and stressful

I work 7-530, and I get one 30 minute break and two 15 minute breaks. 30 minutes for 8 hours is standard here.

I could do it but I'd have to eat something reasonably substantial at least twice in an 8 hour work day.

Clam yes of course fag (and now vaping, of course) breaks exist. I'd say most of the smokers I know at work average 4 plus lunch, but some more like 6.

Doesn't bother me tbh, as it doesn't always correlate with the people who work the "hardest". One of my colleagues rarely chats and gets through an enormous amount of work despite her 2 hrly fag breaks. Other people spend quite a lot of time "going to see people at their desks" on a frequent basis and are gone quite some time. The biggest time waster where I work is meetings.

13.25 hours here - 15 minute concessionary tea break and 2 unpaid 30 minute breaks.

Bunny that doesn't sound right, why do you get a longer paid break in a shorter shift?

Bunny that doesn't sound right, why do you get a longer paid break in a shorter shift?

Oops, sorry! Meant both breaks are paid.

I do six hours with no break. No fag breaks either and I'm a smoker. We used to work 8 hours with a half hour break, and in a lot of ways, that was easier. I'm on my feet all day.

I'm a midwife and we work 7.30am- 8.30pm with a 30 minute unpaid break and sometimes don't even get that

I work 4 10h shifts a week. No official break but if a colleague isn't busy they sometimes let us out to the tearoom for 10 mins to eat something. Otherwise I have a protein bar in my bag which gets sneak eaten in 30s.

"Clam yes of course fag (and now vaping, of course) breaks exist. I'd say most of the smokers I know at work average 4 plus lunch, but some more like 6."

Well, at 10 minutes a shot (and depending on your building, it could be more than that), 6 breaks a day, 5x a week adds up to quite a lot. I think that would piss me off quite a lot actually. Am surprised it's still tolerated, to be honest.

Wonder how many of those smokers are those who criticise teachers for not working in "the real world" and only working until 3.30.

As a junior Dr we frequently worked 8am-6pm with 20 minutes on a good day, nothing on a bad day. If you were "on a long day" eg 13 or 14 hours the others would make sure you got a "lunch break" around 3-4pm (after 7-8 hours) I never took more than 30 minutes. It's perfectly doable- you just get used to it.

I think it's hard - but it's not illegal and it's not impossible, so sadly, I think you just need to put up with it. Mind you, it's a lot easier to tolerate things like this if you're on a decent salary and not hourly NMW...

Depends what you're doing really. I look at a screen in almost silence for 6 hrs a day and only my 30 min outside break keeps me going.

Whereas I've had more fun in retail and a longer, busier day with a short break has been far less stressful.

The smokers at my last workplace were told that any smoking breaks would be unpaid and time spent smoking had to be made up (with threats of disciplinary action for non-compliance) after an audit showed certain smokers were taking the piss with massively long smoking breaks. Office environment.

Dh does 10 hours with no breaks. He is allowed drinks and the toilet but often doesn't have time. Typical of lots of workplaces though in recent years.

I generally work 541.3 hours without a break.

And how was that received, JayneBond?

Soul I started working at 18 and am still going 18 years later. They've promised me a ten minute break on my 50th :)

It often depends on the culture of your industry. Dh and my brother are in hospitality. My brother worked 7.30am to 1.30am next morning with a half hour break. Then next day went out drinking and ended up being rescued by an ambulance at 7pm after drinking for 2 hours. He still hasn't lives that down.

As a teacher, I arrive at school just before 8, and usually leave at around 5.15. During that time, technically, there is a morning break of 15 minutes and a lunch break of an hour, but all that actually means is that the kids are elsewhere at that time, and of course they leave at 3.20. But, whilst I might zoom into the staffroom and grab a coffee, I'll drink it at my desk with the same applying to lunch. Ditto a cup of tea at 4 ish. My choice, I know, but there is never a minute to spare. I know people still like to maintain that teachers only work until 3.30, but actually, that just means that we start to do then, what office workers have all day to do.

clam all the smokers grumbled.

The ones that only had one or two short smoking breaks felt that they were being unfairly penalized because of the piss-takers.
The piss-takers were outraged by the loss of their long smoking breaks.
Lots of smokers whined about non-smokers getting cups of tea / coffee on work time (something almost all the smokers did in addition to the smoking breaks).

The non-smokers were very unsympathetic on the whole.

I work 08.30 until 18.30 and I theoretically get half an hour unpaid break. I get that break one shift in ten if I'm lucky so I am working ten hours with no breaks in a physically and mentally demanding job. I am in an unregulated profession but I am paid well so I just accept it is what it is. I won't be able to sustain it for ever though so may start making a bit of noise about it one day maybe. I am very fit. I am still knackered when I get home though :(