Was I unreasonable to go to Pilates in the middle of the day? Feel sick....

[SisterJude7]

I work from home and am allocated 30 minutes for lunch. I am chronically underpaid for my level of seniority (I manage a small team). In my view, it is inhumane to expect human beings to only take a mere 30 minutes to recuperate, although many of my colleagues relish missing their lunch breaks and wear their lack of lunch as a badge of honour. I admittedly sometimes go for a run, attend a gym class or run some errands before school pick up which is beneficial for my own wellbeing. No issues with my performance, I work my hours and I have finished late on numerous occasions anyway. The daytime classes tend to be cheaper and use less of my Class Pass points and besides, I have zero time in the evening.

Anyway, on Friday, I attended a 50 minute Pilates class. I don't usually pay much attention to the other attendees, but during the warm-up, I was absolutely blindsided to see a director on the carriage opposite (she has Fridays off). My stomach absolutely dropped-she definitely clocked me and looked stony-faced but briefly nodded. To make matters worse, the shock went straight to my bowels, so I needed to dash to the loo 😭😭. I had no choice but to complete the class which felt like the longest 50 minutes of my life with a churning stomach. She scuttled out at the end of the class.

Do you think I will be in trouble? I have spent all weekend ruminating. I don't want recent minor transgressions to be put under the microscope- I've been spoken to informally about my dogs barking in a client meeting and once I also forgot a teams meeting and popped to the supermarket. I don't want to be forced to go back to the London office as my dogs have separation anxiety and I need to be around to pick up my DCs. Should I say something and get in there first? My DH thinks I am overreacting, it will be fine and that I should just buy a mouse jiggler from Amazon which I don't agree with.

Working from home is based on trust, as no one there to monitor you closely. It sounds like you break this regularly. It would be much better to be honest with your manager, and ask for longer lunch breaks in lieu of making up the time at the end of day. If I were your manager I would want you back in the office, not because of what you're doing, but because you're not clearing it with me.

Think you probably need to decide whether you want flexibility for school runs or being able to take an hour and a half for lunch. Unusual to have both.

why should the director be so stoney faced?
shouldnt she assume you have a booked day off?

I think it really depends on the job - if you have set hours and are part of a team then you have to work those hours so you are available to do what is needed when it is needed. I have set hours and if I need to step away for a bit then I have to flag it and make sure we're covered. As OP manages a team, then it is likely she needs to be available to the team at the times that they are working? Of course, if you do work more independently and have flexible working then it is not an issue.

I agree with this. The hours of the job don't work for you with school pick drop offs and disputing the fact that a mere 30 minute lunch break breaches your human rights.
Your employer shouldn't have to accommodate all this you're lucky you've got away with it for this long.

X

I’d guess the OP looked horrified and gave herself away!

Is this for real? So not only do you take 70 minutes for your 30 minute "lunch" (including your 10 min walk there and back), you also "pop" to the supermarket and pick up your DC within your working hours, and have dogs barking during meetings 🤔 I take ypur point abput working late and flexibility is great if it's been agreed - I myself am contracted compressed hours and have 4 complusory days, with the agreement my 5th day's hours are done to suit me. But if you haven't had any of this agreed and are taking this time during core hours this isn't ok - and is the reason people are bing forced back to the office and losing the luxury of wfh. 5 mins to pop on a washload is fine, but extending your lunchbreak by 40 minutes is definitely not. Also, seems a bit hypocritical that you don't agree with mouse jigglers but running long personal errands is fine? Please explain that one to me? Appreciate your comment about being underpaid - in this case, vote with your feet and find a role which meets your pay and/or flexibility expectations.

A mouse jiggler isn't much use if you bump into management when you're out.
If you want a job with flexible hours, you should find one or negotiate about the one you have. The way you're behaving is irresponsible and childish. You must have signed a contract, that means something.

A 30 minute lunch break, particularly when working from home is surely perfectly reasonable?! Its a lunch break, not a split shift!!! I WFH and take my side of the bargain seriously, ie by working the hours I am paid for!!! It’s technically fraudulent to use work time in this way and I would be very worried if I had been caught out like this!

YABVU. As a wfh person (due to 3.5 hr daily commute) you are taking the piss. I've worked in my company for 31 years so i am a trusted employee. My work is also quite flexible but if i need to pop out for something i always tell my boss i am doing so. If i was physically still in the office and needed to pop out i would also inform boss or someone else i was doing so.. 50 mins plus 20 mins over a 30 min lunch break is out of order unless you have permission. If you think you are owed by them either speak up or look for another job.

No idea why you included the irrelevant info about your bowels

your dogs sound a pain in the arse

you need to sharpen up re work

@SisterJude7

Is the director only meant to have 30 minutes too?

I WFH full time. It is very different to being in an office, where there is a huge amount of wasted time, chatting in corridors and over desk partitions, moving between meeting rooms instead of clicking on Teams.

The type of role that is rigid about lunch breaks is not compatible with the type of discipline that is needed for WFH. Where there is flexibility around life but a huge amount of trust is placed on individuals to work as needed.

Hmmm! There's another thread about it being terrible that we all scurry into work like robots when we could be working from home... and now this about someone working from home but taking the piss. It's awfully coincidental isn't it...!

I think you need to speak to your line manager. Apologise and assure them that you made the time up and that you will not do it again unless pre-agreed. Working from home doesn't mean automatic flexi.

I think is a wind up too!

I don't think a 30 minute lunch brake is inhumane, many people will prefer that as it means an earlier finish.

I also think taking a longer break in the middle of the day is fine, if you make it up at the end, and crucially if you've let people know.

If you're taking the extended lunch break and still clocking off at your normal time, I'd expect you to have wfh priveledges removed.

All the suff about being underpaid is completely irrelevant. If that's the case why haven't you changed jobs?

It all depends. For example, do you work 9-5 but work 9-6 on the days you take the Pilates class and have lunch? Do you pick your kids up after work or does your DH do pick up, do that’s not more time within work?

I have someone in my team who does their major grocery shop mid day one day a week - by arrangement with me and they work longer over the other days, which is fine but I know about it. If a meeting is scheduled for that time that can’t be helped, they do their grocery shop after the meeting or a different day if they have notice. Many managers will willingly accomodate this sort of stuff as long as it is known and by agreement.

The argument that you don’t like the lunch break or you don’t believe you get paid enough is completely moot. If you don’t like and accept your contracted working conditions, you simply don’t work there.

I imagine this was the reaction op was hoping for , i feel sure its a made up bingo card/drinking game of all the things people feel aggrieved at others wfh!
(Gym, supermarket, school run, dogs barking, pilates class, mouse jiggler)

That and the sheer coincidence as a pp pointed out that her director lives in the same time and frequent the same pilates class. (If the director has the day off she is not even confined to a lunch time one...)

Hmmmm...

I work from home and am allocated 30 minutes for lunch. I am chronically underpaid for my level of seniority (I manage a small team). In my view, it is inhumane to expect human beings to only take a mere 30 minutes to recuperate, although many of my colleagues relish missing their lunch breaks and wear their lack of lunch as a badge of honour. I admittedly sometimes go for a run, attend a gym class or run some errands before school pick up which is beneficial for my own wellbeing. No issues with my performance, I work my hours and I have finished late on numerous occasions anyway.

Your first post comes over as 'I'll do what I want and bugger the rest of them' because you try to justify your lunchtime escapes, for Pilates or shopping, by saying you make up the hours.

You have chosen to work in a role which you think is underpaid.
(So why not find another one? Or can you not find one?)

Your contract says 30 mins for lunch.

It is laughable that you think 30 mins is too short for lunch, sitting in the comfort of your home, when have no travelling time in your day. (Get a grip!) I hope your inhumane' comment was meant as dry wit.

I know plenty of people who travel to work (an hour each way) and take 30 mins for lunch as it means they can leave work slightly earlier.

What you have done is allocate working time to Pilates and being caught out.
Did it never occur to you that you might be spotted away from home and therefore taking a longer lunch?

What happens if someone on your team needs you when you are out at Pilates or shopping?

You sound incredibly arrogant and deserve a severe bollocking.

Hmm.

A blatant wfh rage bait thread.

I’d give you a written warning tbh.

my view is probably clouded by the fact I have team members that take the piss with their hours and anecdotally I can confirm that people who do that, also have low quality output and you know what; it does affect me - I can’t put meetings in at certain times, out of 9 people I can only schedule two 121s before 10am for example.

I would make a point of pulling you up for this tbh. And I’m actually, despite not sounding like it, super flexible and always work with the team if they want flexibility as long as they DISCUSS it with me.

My husband gets 20 minutes and so do many others. It's shite but @SisterJude7 you were taking the piss and you know it.

Crap like this and the endless "I WFH with my young kids" is why so many employers are pushing for a return to mainly office/site based working - ruining it for the rest of us!

YABU. You get 30 minutes, so take 30 minutes. Takng 70 minutes minimum is taking the piss.

You clearly want to take the piss WFH and make it work around your life, so yes you should absolutely have some accountability - and rightly so you feel anxious because you’ve been busted. It’s people like you that ruin it for the rest of us!