Employer says I am not allowed to heat up my breakfast

[KittyKatty123]

I work full time, 9-5, computer facing all day, work that requires a lot of concentration. I understand the important of taking regular breaks to get away from the screen but don't take the mickey with this. I can't eat first thing in the morning so I have always eaten mid-morning, at my desk, sometimes something cold, sometimes something that needs a minute or two in the staff microwave.

Past employers have never had an issue with this.

I'm fairly new to this job but in the past two months that others have observed me doing this, including my line manager, no-one has ever raised it as an issue. We have access to a microwave and toaster so sometimes I'll bring in a tub of beans, or eggs that I've already put in a bowl and whisked at home so it takes 2 minutes in the microwave to heat them, sometimes I'll do some toast at the same time. All during the space of time it takes me to make my first cup of tea of the day - which is taken after having already put in 1-2 hours work since I got in that morning.

All of a sudden my line manager took me aside and said "it had been noticed" that I was heating up my breakfast and that I was no longer to do this as it was in work time, that the microwave and toaster were only for lunch breaks, unless I decided to split my break over both. This seems ridiculous to me as it takes max 5 minutes and I then bring it back to eat at my desk whilst working. I have seen colleagues gone for much much longer than this if they get into social conversation with colleagues.

Also, this instruction was directed only to me, not as a general "heads up" to the team or department as a whole, so it very personal.

In my mind, from an occupational health point of view, it is very important to take regular breaks throughout the day from VDU work, to make tea, go to the loo, chat with a colleague etc, so why is heating up food whilst making my tea any different.

Am I being unreasonable here? Do others do this at work with no issue? As I said, past employers have never had issue with it and I don't take the piss with it. Thank you.

If one person is allowed to do it then everyone would have to be allowed to do it. There’d be a massive queue for the microwave and toaster.

I wouldn't eat eggs or beans at my desk to be honest, for my colleague's sake. I think this is more the issue than the 5 minutes. Take a sandwich or a banana

I support you OP!

YANBU.

It sounds like it's about time and not the smell from your reply. It's ridiculous when employer's try to police your time like that. I had an employer like this too having a go at you for having a 5 minute break while all the smokers are going off on a 10 min fag break every couple of hours and no one bats an eyelid.

I take my food already warmed in a food flask, so this would solve your porridge issue. I do think heating up eggs etc is a little unusual, if I was your manager I wouldn't care timewise but it might annoy colleagues.

Workplaces are full of people who will moan about stuff, assume that is the reason for the intervention. Best to just play along.

Oh OP, microwaving egg or beans and eating at your desk is hugely antisocial, you just be aware.

If you just eat a hot breakfast mid morning then I agree you should split your break and eat in the break space / kitchen.

This isn't about not having time to rest your eyes from the screen, it's about being much more considerate to your colleagues.

@WindyWindsor

YANBU.

It sounds like it's about time and not the smell from your reply. It's ridiculous when employer's try to police your time like that. I had an employer like this too having a go at you for having a 5 minute break while all the smokers are going off on a 10 min fag break every couple of hours and no one bats an eyelid.

But this is exactly what’s happening here. Except, instead of smoking, op is treating herself to a paid breakfast break that others don’t have.

What if all colleagues did this? Amy has a breakfast break during paid time and Jenny likes to pop out for a five minute walk and Leanne has to have her three pm crumpets and tea and Helen steps out for a few minutes to FaceTime her kids at 4pm.

It would become so that people could wander in and out as they pleased and it would be difficult to know who was in the office when and to be able to rely on people being available.

The employer has very fairly offered op to split her lunch break if she wants to have a cooked breakfast. They aren’t policing her time, they’re simply saying that she needs to use her own break time to have breaks in.

What if all colleagues did this? Amy has a breakfast break during paid time and Jenny likes to pop out for a five minute walk and Leanne has to have her three pm crumpets and tea and Helen steps out for a few minutes to FaceTime her kids at 4pm.

Plenty of successful workplaces are like this tbh. Especially environments where people work very hard, or very long hours.

TBH op, you’re probably under estimating how long you spend on this. It might take you just 5 mins to heat up and do the toast, but then you have to factor in how long you spend actually eating it. We had someone at work who took her hour lunch to walk around town, and would then return, heat her food up, and sit at her desk eating it, adding a further 15 mins to her break. It was noticed, and she was stopped from doing it.

What if others did this? Surely everyone does do this. Everytime someone takes a piss or makes a cup of tea or chats about Bake Off.

I'd stick to your cold breakfast and save a hot breakfast for the weekend (or have it at lunch!!)

Or wfh - is that an option?

I've been quoted a few times up the thread and can't remember who by but in response, I used to work in sales and the first half of the day was either calling new customers or answering the phone to new customers, inputting information into the system, generating quotes and invoices etc. You can't do that if youre too busy stirring your porridge and gobbling it up. You couldnt really use the system one handed (or one fingered in many cases) as you can't scroll, type, dial etc.
So the pressure came on us to answer the calls she was missing or pick up the new enquiries in the morning which then led to a backlog of work later on.
Afternoons were when we could slow down as the phones would stop ringing as much and we could crack on with admin.

Jesus, you would be my worst ever colleague

I'd be gagging at eggs and beans eating at a desk for breakfast.

@vincettenoir

What if others did this? Surely everyone does do this. Everytime someone takes a piss or makes a cup of tea or chats about Bake Off.

None of those stink the rest of the office out though (I would hope)

I think you should vary your diet OP. What about a nice plate of kippers tomorrow?

Also, this instruction was directed only to me, not as a general "heads up" to the team or department as a whole, so it very personal.

As someone who once had the misfortune to work for a wishy washy line manager, who only ever sent 'general' emails instead of talking to the person/persons concerned directly, it's quite refreshing to hear this.

'Blanket of blame' style of management is silly, and it just gets innocent people's backs up, because everyone knows who the culprits are.

Eggs or fish in an office microwave - bleurgh! Sorry OP, I suspect it's the smell that's the issue but the manager is too much of a wuss to tell you outright.

@vincettenoir

What if others did this? Surely everyone does do this. Everytime someone takes a piss or makes a cup of tea or chats about Bake Off.

I imagine op does all these in addition to her extra breakfast break.

Unless she doesn’t use the toilet or talk to colleagues at all which I doubt.

So if you do it others will want to do it too. So then everyone in the office will want extra time for heating food. Then someone will heat up kippers of something else that stinks then everyone will be stopped from eating at their desks period.

Don't be that person that ends up spoiling it for everyone else.

Can't you just eat breakfast at home, on your own time?

I don’t doubt she does. I’m just pointing out how ridiculous it is to consider that everyone works solidly for 8 hours a day at their desk so taking the odd phone call or heating some beans is really such an injustice to the rest of the dedicated hard-pressed workers.

I got told off for this, 15 years ago at my old firm. Employees made a complaint about me. I came in at 7.45 and had a bowl of cereal before my start time at 8. I guess it must have been 8, by the time I was back at my seat after washing up my bowl.

I was also told off for making too many cups of tea, as part of a tea round.

I left, after having worked there got 8 years. My new job where I've been for 10 years, we all eat all the time, and make endless cups of tea. My boss the MD loves it.

Different atmospheres, different ethos's.

But eggs and beans is gross.

That’s pretty weird, imho. I used to do exactly the same thing and no-one ever had a problem with it. I’m fairly sure scrambled egg or beans doesn’t smell enough to cause an actual complaint.

The other thing you could try which I used to do was soft boil some eggs, put them in the fridge, then peel and drop in a cup of boiling water to reheat. Obviously, peel them away from your desk but that takes no longer than making a cup of tea. Eat with some cold feta, spinach leaves and cold ham.

YANBU to heat up food - but I think it is the type of food which is the issue. I've worked with people who had porridge for a late breakfast at work, which is quite different. Don't you have a morning tea break and a staff room where you could do that?