Self-Helpless: True Tales of a Working Girl: How Do You Spend Your Lunch Hour?

11/07/2006

How Do You Spend Your Lunch Hour?

Most people that work in the corporate world get an hour for lunch. Of course, some get less, but the amount of time itself is not what I’m getting at today. Lunch hour is the time to step away from the mayhem (or boredom) of your morning and take some time for yourself to grab a bite, run errands, or just take a walk.

Of course, many take the opportunity to eat lunch at their desks and read, pay bills, make phone calls, or check personal email. Here lies the issue. My friend, Ms.Worksforwhat, (whom you may have read about in Thursday’s post Work_Life_Balance ) once got a lashing for her use of the internet during her lunch hour. It goes without saying that there’s some sites that just should not be accessed at the office (hmmmm, like porn or any site with loud, obnoxious sound effects – that should be turned off anyway at work). Whatever.

So Ms. Worksforwhat is chowing down on her tuna on rye as she watches a news clip online. Incidentally, it’s a news clip made available on the company’s own intranet. A manager happens to pass by (not her immediate manager) and see this and later rats on her with her manager. So, she gets in trouble for watching what the company puts on their own web site during her lunch hour. I ask: WHY?

Not only that, it’s something that comes up at review time as well. I know from personal experience that once something is put on your record like that, it stays there. I think that if management is going to have a problem with internet use, they should not go out saying that it’s okay to use the internet for personal use during lunch hour and completely eliminate all use of it. And then they should chain the workers to their desks, and demand a blood sacrifice.

So my question for the masses is this: Why should it really matter to your company what you do on your lunch hour (provided you’re not snorting blow in the restroom… then you’d have bigger problems)? What should Ms. Worksforwhat have done in her situation?

# posted by The Pied Piper @ 12:12 PM

Comments:

Quit! Maybe not on the spot, but there's so much that's wrong with that situation that I can't see any value in staying with tat company. As you point out, once something like that gets on your record it's never forgotten.

The number one reason companies are able to get away with behaving like that is that people sit there and take it. If you don't do something about it, management take it as tacit agreement to their behaviour.

# posted by

Anonymous : 10:11 PM

I totally agree with the both of you! This is EXACTLY why I made my "prison break" from corporate America. I've tried to convince my friend to take off, but it's more complicated than that... and I'm sure that this is the case for MANY people that work "the grind". My friend, like so many others, has obligations (the kids, the mortgage, the car, yadda yadda)... but I've been trying to aid her in getting back on the job-interview circuit.

It pains me to see this happening to her, but it pains me more that this behavior even exists. What's worse is that people know it and just don't do anything about it. Companies think bottom-line, and if they're making the BUCKS, it matters little to them how they make it. I've dedicated my career to helping these errant corporate giants (and the not-so-giants) see the error of their ways.

But Ms. Worksforwhat will be warmed to see the support!

# posted by

The Pied Piper : 10:59 PM

Arlan - You rock! You totally know where it's at. You couldn't be more right about your value also. I wish more people understood that.

As for my friend, well... she'll get the support she needs for her decision. And she does know how good she is as an employee and as a person.

Thanks again for your input!

# posted by

The Pied Piper : 4:12 PM