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.

Beans and eggs smell. YABU for doing that in the office.

@GlitterSquid

Mind you, I hate the smell of salad too. It just smells all......salady.

My boss moaned about balsamic on my salad smelling I pointed out he microwaved fish and made the place smell like the inside of a whale and he stopped whinging

@StarryNight04

YABU, taking a couple of minutes to make a cup of tea is different to faffing around microwaving food and making toast. Plus I agree the smell can't be pleasant if you're eating at your desk.

I'd just stick to a quick cold breakfast or accept their offer that you can split your lunch break.

This.

Either get used to eating 'first thing' before leaving the house, split your lunch break into two 15 minute breaks or get used to cold, biscuit breakfasts out of packets washed down with a protein drink.

I'd never do this. It's so unprofessional to eat eggs and things you mention at your desk while everyone else is working.
If I don't manage to eat breakfast before leaving home, I take cold breakfast with me and eat in the car upon arrival before entering the office.
Try eating before you start?

I'd be sacked.

What the hell is Cullen skunk soup?

skink

I’ve just googled it. Actually sounds lovely but totally agree not ideal for the office!

Gross. Hot food smells stinking up the office and splattering on your desk, onto the monitor, into the crevices of the keyboard, plus eating sounds for your coworkers. And its beans! And eggs! Two stinky foods! I'm surprised your surprised this weird behaviour could pose a problem.

Honestly, idk if it's just because I went from working in a school, where we got set breaks and couldn't eat during classes, to work in retail, where I cannot eat at all on the shopfloor and have set breaks, but I cannot understand why people think that their employer setting rules regarding not eating whenever, wherever is unreasonable.

Its one thing to have snacky items at your workstation through the course of the day that you can pick at when you have a hand free to do so (but equally can be put down if something important comes up) but to be having full meals outside of a break time is just taking the piss.
Meals should be taken during your breaks, and anything requiring a plate and cutlery would fall under the "meal not a snack" category so should not be eaten during working time. Not only that but what is happening to your plate after your done? Either you go and wash it up immediately or it is left sitting out until you take another break - neither option is a very good luck as you're either taking yet another break from your workstation in a short time period or you've got dirty cutlery sitting on your desk concealing until you go and wash it up.

I work in a supermarket and we aren't supposed to eat at all on the shopfloor but management generally turn a blind eye to the occasional bag of sweets making the rounds of the checkouts or a bag of crisps in the stock room or the odd cereal bar while sorting returns in the fitting rooms etc but if we all started to wander round the shop floor with full meals then we would, rightly, be pulled up and had a word with as that is what break times are for.

Your boss has said you can split your lunchbreak so in future just have a 10 minute breakfast and 20 minute lunch break and eat them away from your desk

IMO comparing people who are eating lunch to the OP is unreasonable. People get a lunch BREAK and they eat their lunch during this break. The OP is not getting a breakfast BREAK.

Its obviously not the culture of the company to prepare and make a hot breakfast.

I've previously worked in offices where many people would make and eat microwave porridge but they did this during their morning break.
Many years ago, I also worked in an office where somebody cooked sausages every day for her breakfast. People complained a lot about it. I still remember it vividly more than twenty years later because it was so odd. The woman was odd herself though and people tended to raise their eyebrows behind her back and complained about her whenever she went out.

It really depends on your line of work, but really.......you can't take breaks outside your normal working hours.

If you’re eating things like eggs and beans on toast, it’s not like eating a biscuit or even just a piece of toast which you can eat with one hand while continuing to work. You need to stop, look away from your work, cut food etc. You are being paid to work. So eat before you get to work, like most of us do. Is it because you can’t be bothered to get up early enough to eat breakfast at home ?

Yes, it's the aroma.

And I can't blame them.

Hopefully you can devise other breakfasts. A nice cheese or Turkey sandwich. Good luck.

I used to have breakfast at my desk all the time.
Full fry up with coffee and orange juice too.
People would complain and said it wasn't appropriate...
But just cause I'm on the checkout in Tesco doesn't mean you can restrict my human right to a hearty breakfast.

We used to have someone come in and put whole fish in paper bags in the microwave. Another would drink mince from a cup for breakfast. The smell was so bad that the building was evacuated once. The first chap was disciplined and also told he needed to wash as he smelled personally too.

So don’t feel bad OP, you’re not that bad! X

There are some foods that really stink when you microwave them, which is annoying, but I find it so much more annoying when people behave like ridiculous drama queens about it. I used to work in an office that was particularly bad for amateur dramatics over smelly food.

I remember one person, who had only started that week and seemed very shy, had microwaved some cheesy pasta thing. My manager suddenly grabbed his nose and shouted "ugh, what IS that AWFUL pong?! It smells like stinky feet! Ew!". Other members of my team saw an opportunity to seek some attention so they dived in and started making yucky noises and pretending to gag. I was sitting next to them and honestly, you couldn't really smell much at all. I hadn't even noticed it until they all started ranting.

I found it irritating and exhausting. I often had to bite my tongue to stop myself from telling them to shut the fuck up and get on with their work.

I am another person that is very glad I don't work in an office where these things are micro-managed! My open plan office has a small kitchen equipped with a fridge, three microwaves, a toaster oven and a toaster, so most people bring in food rather than eat in the -crap over-priced-- canteen. There aren't any rules, people take breaks whenever suits them best, and nobody gives a hoot if anyone is eating at their desk. In fact we sometimes even have days where everyone brings in a dish. The workforce is pretty international, so sometimes people bring in snacks from their country for everyone. Thankfully everyone here knows eggs or fish are a stinky no-no though.

No wonder so many people hate their jobs.

I trust the fully grown adults who work for me to manage their time, nutrition and workload appropriately and somehow despite flagrant microwave usage and eating, they manage to get their jobs done to a high standard... amazing stuff!

(In all seriousness, this petty micromanaging nonsense drives me insane. If you work in my office and at 11am realise you're starving and need to eat, I don't care if you walk to McDonalds and get yourself 80 hash browns or make yourself some porridge or Deliveroo an entire full English. Whether the work is done at the end of the week or not will be evident either way, and as long as it is I'm not in the business of telling people what or when they can eat, how to split their day up, etc. Obviously some roles can't be that flexible but 90% of email based desk jobs can. Too many managers seem not to realise that treating employees like kids at school is a surefire way to make them fucking hate their jobs.)

I think it looks spectacularly unprofessional and I hate beans. Always have. The smell makes me feel sick. You start at 9 for gods sake. I really think I'd find this an utter piss take.

@scarpa - you win the award for the boss we would all like to have!! I totally agree, employees are adults and should be able to organise their work day but still have a break if needed without being told off like little children.

I didn't particularly like my most recent permanent workplace, but the best thing they had going for them was an attitude like yours, and it was refreshing.

I'm with your boss. Hot food smells awful in the workplace. And your break is for eating in the kitchen / break room , not cooking and then taking the food back to eat during your work time.

You say this is a newish job - I'd be taking the boss's advice and eat during your break or take cold ( non smelly) food back to the desk.

Personally I think this is taking the piss anyway - in most jobs you can't just sit there and eat a hot meal while working. You're being paid to work, not to chow down on eggs and beans in front of your computer. It sounds really unprofessional.

I get 15 mins in the am and 15 pm (paid) then 30 mins unpaid for lunch. Probably because we are heavy computer users, as in I'm on a screen for 8.5hrs continuously

Breaks are part of the employment law here.

It's the smell. Don't do that. Eat something cold.

Another one who thinks it might have something to do with smell, but they might feel embarrassed to say this to your face.
Eat a non smell sandwich, a yoghurt or some fruit and I think nobody will have an issue with this.