I used to mock people for taking lunch breaks at their desk

Then my old boss at that marketing firm in Cleveland would send passive-aggressive emails if I stepped away for 20 minutes. Ended up eating a sad tuna sandwich over spreadsheets for 6 months straight, anyone else's workplace punish you for taking a real break?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_lee21d agoMost Upvoted

Honestly that sounds about right. My old place in Chicago had this unspoken rule that if you weren't at your desk scarfing down a sad sandwich while typing, you looked lazy. I remember my manager once walking by while I was heating up leftovers in the break room and giving me this look like I'd committed a crime. Ate so many bags of chips just to avoid the walk to the microwave.

reesemiller21d ago

My third week at that job I brought in a full tupperware of homemade soup and the smell alone got me a passive-aggressive note taped to my monitor about "scented lunches being disruptive." I ended up hiding the tupperware in my bag and going to eat in my car like some kind of lunch criminal. The tuna sandwich era is rough but at least you weren't digging cold soup out of a bag under your desk.