Zero privacy at work

[Toomanytakeaways]

I'm leaving soon luckily. I work in a very small private summer school, we don't have our own rooms and there's no staffroom, just some chairs in reception.
There's a library but they often have lessons in there so you can't just go in.
I've been placed in one particular room over the next couple of weeks. We get an hour unpaid lunch, but people just walk in and out as they please even if it's your break.
I'm not 'senior' enough to put a do not disturb sign up or anything.
I don't mind if it's once, but on Friday I had people come in 4 times in an hour when I ate in my classroom.
I can eat outside to avoid this but can't afford to go to cafes every day.
Maybe I'm overreacting but I don't feel like I can ask people to leave me alone. It's just annoying when they (other staff) see it's the break time and that you're eating and they keep bursting in the room to talk to you.

Eat your sandwiches on a bench in the park?

Or sit in your car and eat

I don't have a car sadly!
I will go outside today.. luckily the weather is still good!

In most of my jobs I've had to eat while answering the phone etc. I guess unless you leave the premises or sit in a toilet there is nothing you can do?

People also don't even knock.. it's not like there's a communal staffroom as I said.
It's usually the senior teachers who do this, they see that I'm sitting eating a sandwich and just walk in to talk

But it's not like you're sat on the toilet?

Put a do not disturb note on your door

Well I'm not no but maybe I want to be left in peace on my break and to eat? We spend all morning and afternoon talking to people, maybe I just want some peace and privacy

Anyway I'm just going to go out today

I would say the vast majority of working people don’t have access to a private room for lunch and there is generally always a communal staff room or area. I think if you want complete privacy you need to go off site.

This has been true in most places I've worked unfortunately. There seems to be a trend for open plan offices (and former staff rooms being converted into more offices) I go outside and eat on a bench if the weather is OK.

You wouldn’t get any privacy in a staff room, it’s a standard joke amongst nurses. Staff are continually ‘popping in to quickly ask’…

Those that want to be alone eat outside, in all weathers it seems.

I am a teacher and don’t have anywhere to eat my lunch alone either-I didn’t think this was unusual? We have a staffroom and loads of people come in and out of it all lunch hour. I don’t have my own classroom so can’t eat there.

I’d go out for a walk if I really needed to be alone.

So you are eating in your classroom, but people are coming in for a chat-that sounds friendly. If you don’t want them to talk to you, then sit with your lunch/book and look busy.

This is why headphones exist.

The Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations 1992 state that

(1)Suitable and sufficient rest facilities shall be provided at readily accessible places.
(2) Rest facilities provided by virtue of paragraph (1) shall—
(a)where necessary for reasons of health or safety include, in the case of a new workplace, an extension or a conversion, rest facilities provided in one or more rest rooms, or, in other cases, in rest rooms or rest areas;
(b)include suitable facilities to eat meals where food eaten in the workplace would otherwise be likely to become contaminated.
(3) Rest rooms and rest areas shall include suitable arrangements to protect non-smokers from discomfort caused by tobacco smoke.
(4) Suitable facilities shall be provided for any person at work who is a pregnant woman or nursing mother to rest.
(5) Suitable and sufficient facilities shall be provided for persons at work to eat meals where meals are regularly eaten in the workplace.

It seems to be common then, maybe I expect too much.
They're not coming in just for a chat but it's about work related stuff, I should have said.
But it's an unpaid break, I shouldn't have to be planning or discussing work during it.

I will be going to the park then or a cheap ish café from now on!

I don't think the OP is asking for a private room/area, just a room/area where students/clients are not coming in and out.

I used to run summer schools and we always had a staff room with kettle, fridge and microwave.

I teach in a secondary school & this is normal. I have also worked in industry in open plan offices & it's a case of eating at your desk. I don't imagine many people have private space to eat in peace - unless you have your own office space. I think you will need to go out for a walk to get some peace & maybe take a blanket to sit on?

We have a staff 'kitchen' which is essentially one of those kitchenettes you'd get in a bedsit.
It's more the fact that they can clearly see through the glass I'm sitting eating a sandwich, it's never for really urgent matters, and they could surely email.

Sympathy, Op. I often just need half an hour of not having to talk, or listen, to people when I am at work if I have had a particularly busy day. I go out for a walk.

This is fairly standard in most jobs. Certainly in office jobs. So I don't really see anything unusual about not being able to have complete privacy in your work place while eating lunch.

I've been working since 1992 and I can't think of a single workplace that has had a private, or 'no shop-talk' space for breaks. Even staffrooms don't have that policy.

If you don't want to risk talking to colleagues at break, you're going to have to be off-site.

Absolutely bizarre that you imagine you get ‘privacy’ at work - that’s what home is for.

OP, you would not cope with most professional offices where the idea of a lunch break is a sandwich while listening to voicemails and reading email.

Your approach is just so self absorbed.

It doesn’t sound like it’s students or clients coming in.

I am the same drives me mad. Not much you can do though. I tend to sit in my car 🚗.