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.

@GreyhoundG1rl

750 posts and op is still astounded that she's been requested not to down tools and scoff a cooked breakfast in the middle of the morning - maintaining that she keeps working throughout said scoffing 😂😂😂

at the same time, eating breakfast while catching up eg emails ect, is more productive than general chit chats with other colleagues ect

Can I ask if people smoke at your work? Also / if you use the loo does that get clocked too? Finding this incredibly unreasonable and micro managing you.

• earring = eating.

This is becoming a 'them and us post."

Wfh/office non facing = do what you want , when you want, if you want.

People working with people = professionalism.

definitely!

As a compromise get in ten minutes early and eat your eggy breakfast away from the office bit. I have to say I would not want to get into work first thing and be faced with such an odour!

@Starcaller

I used to work evenings and people would have whole meals at their desk Curry, chilli, reheated pizza, pasta. I always liked seeing what people had.

We do the same 😂 There's someone in the office 24hours on shift and you get people eating a hot breakfast at 6am and others scoffing reheated roasts at 8pm.

Never bothers me. Surprised so many people are offended by the smell of eggs tbh

@vincettenoir

I think your manager / colleagues who have ‘noticed’ your hot breakfasts are basic bellends. What uptight losers! There are a lot of them about, as is clear from the posters on this thread. I can see why you are pissed off as this would really get to me. If you have the balls I would just carry on as before. What are they going to do about it?

She could be sacked! That's what they could do about it!

‘ Take in a little camping stove and add in the bacon and sausages…’
I’ll butter the rolls.

C’mon, form an orderly queue, there’s enough for everyone.

I don't think you're being unreasonable and have voted as such - I do the same as you at work but it's actually allowed!

I think in your circumstances though I'd be mildly pissed off but accept it and just have cold breakfasts instead. I like a nice porridge but could cope with granola and yoghurt instead to keep the peace.

@AreYouRightThereSkippy

I do think when people spend a good chunk of their day avoiding work, they probably just really hate their jobs.

Don't we all?

@ilovepixie

Do you not get a morning tea break? Just a lunch break?

I would assume not or OP would have said (and this might not not such an issue). You sound surprised that someone might not have a morning tea break. I don't get one, in an NHS desk based job. We just make tea as and when we fancy one and bring it back to our desks.

@Holskey

The smell is one thing but the potential noise would get me. I have misophonia, so unless you eat absolutely silently, I would have to complain about you, and if that didn't work, I'd need to leave whilst you ate.

I'd feel I were taking the piss - cooking and eating a hot meal on work's time, so there's probably some of that too.

This.

And it's incredibly unprofessional too!

It's all about perception. The perception is that you get extra breaks every day. I had something similar once. When I pointed out that I don't drink tea or coffee and I don't smoke so don't take breaks that others do, it was ignored.

It's annoying how one thing is fine but another form of it isn't. I started coming in to work earlier and eating breakfast in the kitchen before I started work.

Unfortunately it's one of those things where you sort of have to tow the line

I pretty much can't eat breakfast. My digestion generally takes at least two hours longer to wake up than I do. And therefore I did/do like to have elevenses- most jobs I did we had a mid-morning break so I ate then. Do you have no mid-morning break?

Even though I wfh most of the time these days, I still go to the kitchen to eat. I will drink coffee or whatever when working, as staying hydrated is a health thing, but eating in the workroom- still no. It's a bad habit, anti-social if the food is hot and you're not alone (and for much of the work I do a potentially dangerous one, incidentally).

@maybemu

It's all about perception. The perception is that you get extra breaks every day. I had something similar once. When I pointed out that I don't drink tea or coffee and I don't smoke so don't take breaks that others do, it was ignored.

It's annoying how one thing is fine but another form of it isn't. I started coming in to work earlier and eating breakfast in the kitchen before I started work.

Unfortunately it's one of those things where you sort of have to tow the line

Quite.

I think it’s weird and unprofessional to have a hot meal mid morning while everyone else is working. It’s not about the time it takes, I would think I it’s weird and just not a social norm. There was a woman who took her shoes off in our office and walked around bare foot. I mean that didn’t affect her work but I also though that was really unprofessional and not a social norm.

@SliceOfCakeCupOfTea

I used to have a colleague who did this and it pissed me off to no end. While she was stirring up her porridge and blowing it to cool it down, she couldnt properly perform tasks. She could only type with one hand, often couldn't answer the phone as she was chewing. It would take her longer to so a simple email or input some data while she was eating than it would normally, and while this was only for 10-15 minutes per day, it was every day and very annoying.

Also microwave eggs stink.

Agreed.

Bring a salmon bagel or something and eat it in the kitchen area.

Cooking eggs at work every day for breakfast is v antisocial

Eating at your desk is also gross

Ughhh microwaving egg. What's next heating up some fish. Just make a cold breakfast instead. No one wants to smell that.

I also had a boss years ago who brought in a deep fat fryer to use UNDER HIS DESK because his wife wouldn’t let him eat chips. And he would make sausage sandwiches on an entire full length, like a metre long, baguette and eat the whole thing. Not even cut up!

Try overnight oats - make the night before and eat cold next day. Really delicious, no smell, only a few minutes to put together and no microwave involved. All you need is a small pot/jar with lid. Change the ingredients to suit taste. Nuts and dried fruit also work well:

• fill pot/jar to three quarters with porridge oats
• cover oats with oat milk, juice or preferred liquid
• lay slices of banana or frozen fruit on top
• top with a layer of yoghurt.

Put lid on and leave in fridge overnight. Remember to take to work next morning!

@BarbaraofSeville

Why is it likely to be 15 mins? Both beans and scrambled egg literally take 2 minutes in the microwave. You do them while the bread is toasting. If it's either/or, it can be done in well under 5 mins.

Because you need to go to the kitchen, put them in the microwave (beans take at least 3 minutes as they need heating stirring and heating again, scrambled eggs take about 2 minutes in my experience) toast and butter the bread, take it back to your work station, and eat it.

Unless you eat like an animal or my youngest child, it will take you at least five minutes to eat too.

So it isn’t ‘two minutes’ away from work as op asserts. It’s probably at least 15 minutes not working.

And don't forget the washing up time (unless the OP just leaves a dirty plate congealing on the corner of her desk all morning which is even worse).

If you want a meal break, take a meal break but don't try to kid people that your plated meal is a "midmorning snack" and therefore you don't need to take the time used to make/eat/clear up said meal out of your break allowance.

YABU, it does take time to heat up and to eat, why can you not wait until lunchtime? Why do need a meal before your meal. How often do you need to eat. Are you diabetic? You are not a toddler who needs to eat every 2 hours. Just have a banana if you are hungry like most of us do.

What if the OP doesn't like bananas or congealed sick overnight oats?

Most of these suggestions of alternatives literally turn my stomach. I'm sure if the OP did like those foods she'd be eating them already.

I suspect the OP is a lot like me. I almost never eat cold food by choice and a mid morning breakfast of egg or beans on toast is completely normal to me.

It sounds to me that a lot of the objection could be that people are thinking that, gasp, perhaps the OP is eating more than one hot meal a day and we all know what most people seem to think about that.