New job - already fed up with unhealthy ‘working lunches‘

[AliceSeal]

I’ve been in my new job since February and in the main really enjoy it. However, we have monthly ‘planning meetings’ which so far are always scheduled to run through lunch (usually 11-3) and the bosses arrange for a lunch to be provided. Last month, it was a job lot of Greggs ‘beige’ - sausage rolls etc, and today it was stacks of dominoes which everyone could pile in to.

I haven’t said anything so far as I don’t want to appear ungrateful, and the majority of my colleagues seemed ecstatic with these choices, but as someone who is quite big on health and fitness, this is really irritating. We get a 5-10
minute break from this at most which isn’t enough time for me to do much more than go to the loo (big office with microwave facilities downstairs and always a queue over lunch).

Would you ask to get a longer break so I can have my own lunch? I’m just conscious this will delay the meeting for everyone else so very wary of asking.

I dunno, the more I think about it , it’s kind of insulting to be given dominoes and sausage rolls. Employees aren’t there to be fed whatever like pigs at a trough that need a feed. There’s junk food and there’s proper food. Companies should show their employees respect and allow them to eat well. Rather than treat them like paupers at the work house !

Surly a cold lunch once a month would be more manageable than dominoes or Greg’s.

But the majority seem to like it, the OP stated that in her post

I personally prefer eating healthily but once a month eating unhealthy food wouldn’t bother me, she doesn’t need to gorge herself on it?!?

For crying out loud!!! It's once a month, suck it up. How entitled of you to think you can have a longer break than the others, just so you can have your own lunch I think you need to grow up and realise that not everything is about you.

I want to give this all the reactions!
❤️ 👏🏻 😆 👍🏻

OP - this is why we don’t support you - you’re being a dick.

Oh come on. Surely you are smart enough to be able to get some food on the way in to the office that offers you some healthy snacks/eating but also means you can have a slice of pizza or something?
I go in to London once a month for a work meeting. There are loads of Tesco expresses or M&S foodhalls on the way through to the office. I use M&S only because thats the food shop at my train station to set me up with snacks for the day. I feel like you are being a bit dramatic and could plan better.

reread your comments & think about why they’re daft

Women? Eating pizza and Greggs?! I truly have never heard of such a thing

On the off chance this is a genuine post, you are coming across a bit judgy and inflexible. Would it really be such a hardship to eat a homemade sandwich once a month or microwave some soup? It feels like you believe your lifestyle is superior to those that quite like a Greggs sausage roll, live and let live I say. Our dietary choices do not make us better than others.

either bring a cold packed lunch or suck it up and eat at the junk. It’s once a month, not every day. I bring a healthy lunch most days and am conscious of being a healthy weight etc. but I’d eat the dominoes and Greg’s and enjoy it. Once a month will do you no harm.

Surely you can figure out just taking your own lunch into the meeting!?

What an insufferable bore you are.

Cost effective a little like a modern day equivalent of feeding papers in a work house - let them eat cake attitude , while the most senior probable have expensive proper food.
I know I’m being extreme but ( especially if you’re a big profitable company like OPs) either treat your employees with respect or in the least don’t insult them with fake genorisity of cheap , low nourishment calories

Cupasoup? 🤣

You don't really need to reread your comments becuase you keep posting the same one.

Look, no companies are forcing anyone to eat provided lunches. Do you actually want to respond or are you just going to post again that "companies shouldn't force people to eat junk"? Because they're not.

Prep something healthy you can put in a hot flask

It’s one meal a month!

ONE meal out of NINETY!

This is not making anyone obese. Unclench.

I'm another one that can't work out why you can't solve this for yourself, particularly as you seem to have a relatively senior role. You don't have to eat the lunch that's out on at all and no one will care if you don't eat it and have something else instead but it doesn't need any attention, just have your usual lunch and if needs be have it earlier or later

Re read & then come back

Surely you can just stick your massive salad in the fridge and share it with your thin mates whilst those fatty size 14s get stuck in to the pizza. That’s if you have any mates?

Your options:
1 suck it up for one meal a month
2 don't eat anything
3 take something cold in. You'll can work something out within your macros for one meal a month so that's a rubbish excuse
4 if you insist on having a warm lunch, eat it before or after the meeting
5 take something in a thermos to eat during the meeting
6 suggest healthier options although understand that other people might like this ritual more than you dislike it
7 ask to extend the meeting so you can use the microwave but know you'll be seen the same way as many on here see you. If I was in your team I couldn't care less what you did/didn't eat but I'd possibly be pissed off if you extended an already long meeting and insisted everyone waited round for you while you messed about with a microwave.

As a senior member of staff, you'll know that sometimes you just have to go with the flow and do what your team want to do.

Big hello to all the latecomers. Thread got bit slow and congested with all the porkers clogging up the internet with their sausage roll dust and free radical carbs

@AliceSeal has been banned . Her skinny Arse has sashayed out the door

Once a month! And I worried I was being precious being annoyed about having to reduce my rest period between shifts to nine hours to start early tomorrow - 45 min drive either way and shower/food/sleep/getting ready in morning all need to be done within that nine hours.

There's no harm in speaking to the person who organised it and asking what other options there might be. Gregg's and Domino's seems exceptionally limiting for those eating healthily. In fact just quality wise it's not great even if you like pizza and sausage rolls.

Maybe you could ask what the budget was and come up with a few suggestions of what's available locally? And also ask the others as if they're on your side I can't see why they wouldn't opt for a place that at least offers gluten free stuff, salads, vegan or halal or just a wider selection. It could even be from a supermarket surely?

Yeah but it’s the principal , OP works for large presumably profitable company, my bugbear is the ‘let them eat cake attitude’ that the financial elite have towards the masses on a small scale . I know I’m being extreme but that’s what it really boils down to