To decide myslef how to spend my lunch break

[OpenMe]

I'm a school business manager in a small school which means I do the finance (everything from orders to the budget), personnel, payroll, health and safety, premises, most of the admin, as well as manning the front desk and the telephones. It's a wonderfully varied role but it does mean that people always want something from me and my working life is full of interruptions and chaos.

I started in September and am contracted for 7.5 hours a day plus a 30 min unpaid lunchbreak.

I've had two probationary reviews which have gone very well but each time the HT has "suggested" that it would be nice if I spent my break in the staffroom, so the staff can get to know me. I don't think I'm particularly unsociable, but if I go in the staff room everyone takes the opportunity to tell me what they need from me, what they're waiting for, what they forgot to tell me about that is now urgent etc etc.

It's also really noisy. It's a lovely school and the staff are all very friendly, but the noise of them chatting at lunchtime is horrendous

Anyway, my preferred way to spend my 30 mins is reading, running out to the shops or (best) just going for a walk. Just 20 minutes of quiet away from the chaos.

I understand where the head's coming from but I also like (need?) my break. AIBU to ignore her or only go in there when it's raining occasionally?

[user7755]

People don't seem to get that if teachers aren't being paid for their holidays, the hourly rate is incredible as they get a comparable wage to similar professions (nursing etc) but for doing a lot less hours (on paper0.

That said, I don't think that teachers do just work the hours they are contracted for and I think they deserve their wages (with or without holiday pay

completely missing the point of the thread

[bakeoffcake]

Have you told the HT why you don't go in there at the moment?

I think if you tell her, she would happily let you eat your lunch wherever you like.

[LordEmsworth]

(1) Buy your boss a copy of Quiet by Susan Cain

(2) If you care about doing well at your job, compromise and spend some time getting to know the staff and some time doing what you want. Once everyone knows you better, it is unlikely to be as big an issue - but refusing to get to know your colleagues when your boss has specifically asked you to make the effort is not going to help you in your job. I am not saying that is right, but it is my experience of the workplace

[Want2bSupermum]

openme Your remark about you not getting paid the same as the teachers is far off the mark. You are being asked to give up half an hour a day. The teachers give up far more than this, including their half hour lunch break, as unpaid overtime.

Also, I don't know how you would cope in private industry. My 80% schedule is over 40 hours a week. At least 8 hours a week are unpaid. It is very normal that most employees are putting in unpaid overtime now that we don't have unions protecting us. As much as it sucks, if you want to keep this job beyond the probationary period I suggest you play the game. Once you have made it through the probation period it is easier to do WTF you want.

[BossWitch]

Op, have you worked in any other schools before? I think the basis of the issue here is the different understanding of the 'lunch break' that exists in schools as opposed to many office environments. In most schools, the lunch break - for teaching staff - isn't often a 'break' in the sense of time off from work to fill as you please. It's basically just a free period in the middle of the day, in which you grab some food and the chance for a pee in between doing a whole range of other tasks - lesson prep, marking, catch up session with kids who missed work for whatever reason, running a detention, running an extra curricular activity, running/attending staff meetings, pupil supervision duty, etc etc! Teachers have a constant, mammoth 'to do' list in their head which is why they will grab you if & when they see you! I know I've always tried to bear in mind that our office staff have a slightly different structure to their day but it is hard not to try to get that tick on my to do list sorted while I make a brew and eat a sandwich - it's one more thing done and as I'm not ever 'switched off' I don't tend to think of others being so. (That said, I'd always apologise for interrupting the person's lunch.)

I think that the suggestion made by a few people to do the staff room on one lunchtime a week is a good one (I also would recommend Friday!). You'll be making an effort to create an opportunity for staff to get to know you, thereby hopefully keeping the head happy, and you'll only have one more afternoon of work to get through before you get the proper break of the weekend!

[BackforGood]

It's not even "give up" the break that OP is being asked to do, it's "spend your break where other people are getting to know each other and join in with that" - I don't think it's a big ask, particularly if you do as most folk here have suggested and just do it twice a week.

[MidniteScribbler]

I'm a teacher, and I'd also prefer to spend my lunchtime mumsnetting pottering around my classroom or getting work done as it's that much less I have to do at home of an evening. But I'm also aware of the social side, and so I make sure I put in an appearance for a while at morning tea, then for a short while at lunch. I make it random so it doesn't look like scheduled social time, and I still give myself a bit of alone time. I find if I put a few minutes appearance at each break, then enough people see me in there over the course of a week so that no one remarks on the fact that I am absent for most of the break.

Quite frankly, I could live without the social interaction, but it is something which is important to a lot of people, and so it's worth making the effort.

[venusinscorpio]

YANBU. It's your lunch break, you're not getting paid for it. I hate talking about work stuff all day. I need a proper break and you have a right to this. Maybe pop in for quarter of an hour every once in a while, or go in there and read a book and politely refuse to deal with work related questions until you get back to your desk.

[venusinscorpio]

Teaching staff often get paid lots more than admin staff. I've worked in an FE college and I wouldn't have given up my lunch break for anyone.

I know I've always tried to bear in mind that our office staff have a slightly different structure to their day but it is hard not to try to get that tick on my to do list sorted while I make a brew and eat a sandwich - it's one more thing done and as I'm not ever 'switched off' I don't tend to think of others being so. (That said, I'd always apologise for interrupting the person's lunch.)

Perhaps you should try a bit harder to get your head around it then? She didn't choose to be a teacher, she chose to work in admin. She doesn't want to be apologised to, she wants you to not interrupt her lunch with your personal job issues. YABU.

[maddening]

Pop into the staff room - any queries ask them to leave a note on your desk or email and see if anyone fancies coming for a walk - you get to chat to a couple of folk and get to know them while getting some exercise?

[venusinscorpio]

That's a reasonable suggestion, maddening.

[Iggi999]

I would advise not spending much time in the staffroom actually as you might let slip how you feel about teachers' salaries etc, which will win you no friends at all.

Where I work business managers aren't term time only, and are definitely full time. Could you make a case for more hours to bring your time up?

[LittleBearPad]

You do seem rather inflexible. It isn't going to help you win friends. Go in a couple of times a week. You never know, you might like them.

[TheMaddHugger]

can you call into the break room for the last 5 minutes and chat?

[HopeClearwater]

I saw the thread title and just KNEW the OP would work in a school. Schools are full of nutjob megalomaniac head teachers who think they can get away with this sort of thing. Also, the fact OP is not paid for her lunch break is (a) shocking and (b) the reason why she should do what she damn well likes in her break.

[MidniteScribbler]

I'd like to add that I (and the rest of the staff at my school) would personally expect the OP to be available to teachers during the morning recess and lunchbreak, as that is the only time that they would actually get to speak to her. All of our admin staff are hanging around either in the staff room dealing with issues or at their desks so teacher's can talk to them. But at our school it is fairly informal with regards to breaks for the admin staff and no one counts how many minutes they are owed, so while they may come and sit down in the staff room during the recess and lunch breaks, if a teacher needs something, they will get up and deal with it, and then if they want a proper break they'll take some time when classes go back in. But at our school, it's pretty informal and every is treated like a professional able to manage their own time and do their jobs effectively.

[Leelu6]

As pp have said, you could have lunch in the staffroom whilst you complete your probationary period (sucks though).

Aren't you entitled to any paid annual leave? That's terrible! Could you work 2 more hours per week to qualify for full time pay?

[Leelu6]

@Midnight - slightly different in OP's case as it sounds like her lunch break is her only proper break, so it's unfair of her HT to expect her to make herself available to teachers in it.

OP, could you be in the staffroom during teachers' break time and then take your own lunch break later?

Your lunch break is unpaid, your holidays are unpaid, your salary is half that of teachers - you really are entitled to 30 minutes of respite. How long is left of your probationary period?

[BringMeTea]

Hope I was exactly the same! Knew this would be a school. I have worked for 2 heads who tried to enforce this rule but for teachers not any other staff. I think it is utterly wrong and in each case the Head was a controlling arsehole.

Having said that if your Head is 'nice' apart from this I would do the one day a week thing and see how that goes. Of COURSE you should be entitled to do as you choose during your brief break.

[Shutthatdoor]

If the HT has mentioned it more than once, I imagine that there is a perceived division between you and the rest of the team and the HT is trying to address this.

I agree. You are on your probationary period and it has been mentioned more than once.

It has obviously been raised by people.

[TenTinyTadpoles]

YANBU but I do think that you should go in there once a week at least. The staff are being a bit unreasonable really. We have a staff room at work as we're not allowed to eat at our desks, there is an unwritten rule of no work related chat and it's much nicer as a result.

[knobblyknee]

An unpaid lunch! YANBU.

Ugh, I hate this kind of penny pinching.

[knobblyknee]

I'm pretty sure you should be paid for that half hour.

www.hse.gov.uk/contact/faqs/workingtime.htm