To ask if you take your lunch break?

[moutonfou]

I'm lucky to have been in a job where people are encouraged to take their whole lunch break, away from the desk.

I'm on lunch break in a new job now and there seem to be quite a number of desk eaters. I really hope it's not that kind of place. Of course if it's a particularly busy day, I'll happily shorten or skip lunch, but I won't work through lunch on a normal day, where my work's all on track, just for the sake of presenteeism.

What's the norm for others?

I take a full hour most days. Work in central London so usually go to Pret and go for a wander.

I am supposed to have an hour but I never get to take it
I grab a cup of coffee and something to eat when I can
I'm a nursery manager so have to cover my staffs lunches first, and then I need to answer the phone and the door when on my lunch because I don't have cover for me

NHS so no, not often.

Maybe a car banana while I'm out on visits.

Agree with PP that the public hate seeing NHS/emergency services eat. We have a glass windowed office on the ward and people often complain that we're "sat around drinking tea" when we're writing notes, ordering tests/drugs etc while mainlining coffee to stave off the hunger pains. They'd soon complain (and do) if we actually took breaks.

I don't get a lunch break, never have. Morning theatre list ends at 1pm, afternoon theatre list starts at 1.15 and I have to see / assess all the afternoon patients in that 15 min.

Your lists start and finish on time?

Sometime we get a break, some times (especially in maternity theatres) we rarely get a break. 12.5 hour shifts. not a Doctor

I often have lunch at my desk but am internet shopping not working.

I walk for 45mins, buy my lunch on my way back, and eat at my desk.

Nope, I work for the NHS if I don't take a lunch break my patients get seen and get home quicker

Mostly. Sometimes I go home to get a real break / throw in some washing etc

We also have to eat at our desks. So I'll generally surf the net.

Rarely take a break when I'm in the office as generally in back to back meetings all day. However I have huge flexibility in arriving late, leaving early and I wfh one day a week. I can make calls any time and pop to the shops/dry cleaners if I need to.
Swings and roundabouts.

Nope. In education (FE). Eat at desk or in car between campuses.

Neither do my team have lunch. Most stay after 5. Our college runs on goodwill.

If staff in education just did the hours they were paid for, the whole education system would go into melt down.

Generally I'm out on client sites so no where to eat but my desk or my car.

Do usually take my lunch hour though, I can't concentrate otherwise. Seem to be a rarity in my organisation!

Too right I take it, I don't get paid for it so I'm not sitting in the office. I drive home for my lunch, sometimes prepping the evening meal and bunging it in the slow cooker while I'm there or putting on some washing.

Teacher here...work through almost every lunch break; often eat whilst teaching extra lunchtime sessions.

I'm in the NHS, it is a real struggle to get a break.

ita so hard to get a break when there are patients that need you and jobs that need to be completed. It's not martydom or poor time management, it's just a very intense environment.

I tend to just grab something to eat while I work, in between calls or emails or whatever.

I used to work nights which were generally quieter and your get a break most of the time but nights are shit and I'd much rather work days, break or no break.

NHS and yes we have to take our breaks. On a 12hr shift that's 15, 30 then another 3 x 15 mins

I officially get 1 hour 10 mins for lunch but I rarely take it, I save up the flexi instead. Tend to eat at my desk and deal with household admin/look at Facebook and here instead!

I nearly always take a lunch break away from my desk. I don't always take a full hour though (which is the length of break my contract stipulates). My workplace has lots of activities at lunchtime. On Tuesday's I take 90 minutes (30 mins to eat plus 1 hour at the workplace choir). I imagine it all evens out in the longrun.

I have pretty bad anxiety and can't think of anything I'd rather do less than walk into the staff canteen where 100+ other people are sitting. I usually eat at my desk and catch up on news, I definitely do not do any work.

I nip out to buy lunch then eat it at my desk working.

I have massive amounts of work to get through and would rather get home on time.

Very occasionally we go out and have a booze lunch and I don't feel guilty about this at all as work probably owe me six million lieu days for all the lunch breaks I've missed.

In theory we get an hour.

I take a late (very late) lunch hour every day and use it to pick the dc up from school and drop to the cm's. I then scoff a quick sandwich at my desk. I'm lucky in that home/with/school/cm are all within the same 3 mile radius so I'm able to do it.

I'm quite disciplined about forcing myself to get out for at least half an hour, even if some days it doesn't end up happening until quite late. I'm in a city centre though so plenty of places to go for a mooch, even if it's crap weather.

Oh, and I don't get paid for mine, and if I work more than 6 hours will automatically have 30 minutes deducted from my flexi even if I don't take it, so I make sure I do!

I take 30-40 mins and save the remainder of the hour as flexitime. I often use the break to order online groceries or book/pay things. Some days I have a natter in staff room with colleagues. Not v. Exciting stuff.

I normally eat at my desk but still take a break, somewhere between 1/2 - 1 hour.

I'm a teacher and never get a lunch break.

My morning break is 10 minutes long- if the class before has gone well and I can be mega quick setting up for the next one I sometimes have time to pop to the loo.

Lunch is 25 minutes long. By the time I've tidied my classroom and walked to the staff room there isn't time to use the toilet and eat lunch before being back in my room ready for the next class- I prioritise using the toilet over eating lunch. I will usually have emails to check and send, behaviour and praise points to log on the system and phone calls to make all during this "lunch" break too.