Breakfast at your desk

backspin.

ChikiChiki wrote: »

Think it should be banned in an agile hotdesking workspace. Maybe have a few benches and tables scattered around the place people can meander over to instead.

Or a canteen.

Greengrant

rgodard80a wrote: »

This post reminds me of a Simpsons scene where Grandpa Simpson starts talking under a tree to a load of kids and one says "Listen up, an old person is talking" and they all gather around to listen to his story intently. Which happens exactly never.

Ireland has a thriving high-tech industry where creative people work in a casual environment, casual dress, flexible working hours, working from home etc. So doesn't hurt to let people save 10 mins a day by eating at their desk, people tend to be money rich and time poor these days.

People have just as much time as they ever had in the day, 24 hours. With less tasks to do.

Dj Stiggie

Never really thought about how it would be perceived but when I was doing an internship in Dublin I used to be pretty early for work because of the the bus in the morning. I'd usually grab a roll and myself and my colleague that I shared an office with would have a coffee and a chat at our desks before starting work at 9. We didn't have a canteen but our office was at the end of a corridor away from the actual workers so we weren't disturbing anyone.

I work in hospitality now though so eating on the fly is the only way to go.

This Fat Girl Runs

No, I have breakfast at home. I do eat lunch at my desk though.

Always eat breakfast at my desk and catch up on the news, means more sleep and not having to leave the house as early. A few mugs of tea and something to eat when I get in to the office is my daily routine.

I rarely eat lunch at my desk though.

.......

I have to. I work out, fasted, before work. Arrive to the job, have shower, put on make up, then to my desk to eat my brekkie and have tea while checking on the emails, before the work day starts properly.

The communal kitchen doesnt have seats so Id have to stand at the sink eating otherwise. Everyone in my job eats at their desk. They even have company skype meetings over lunch time that everyone has to attend sometimes.

OldMrBrennan83

....... wrote: »

I have to. I work out, fasted, before work. Arrive to the job, have shower, put on make up, then to my desk to eat my brekkie and have tea while checking on the emails, before the work day starts properly.

The communal kitchen doesnt have seats so Id have to stand at the sink eating otherwise. Everyone in my job eats at their desk. They even have company skype meetings over lunch time that everyone has to attend sometimes.

They could get away to feck with that ****e.

Grayson

Dj Stiggie wrote: »

Never really thought about how it would be perceived but when I was doing an internship in Dublin I used to be pretty early for work because of the the bus in the morning. I'd usually grab a roll and myself and my colleague that I shared an office with would have a coffee and a chat at our desks before starting work at 9. We didn't have a canteen but our office was at the end of a corridor away from the actual workers so we weren't disturbing anyone.

I work in hospitality now though so eating on the fly is the only way to go.

I used to have a job where I started at 8 and everyone else started at 9. I'd grab a coffee and microwave some oatmeal and eat it at my desk.

there was a canteen in the building and there were people on my team who'd bring a full fry, beans and all, to their desks. The dirty plates would sit there till the evening. Sometimes they'd be there for days.

Bigbagofcans

Grayson wrote: »

I used to have a job where I started at 8 and everyone else started at 9. I'd grab a coffee and microwave some oatmeal and eat it at my desk.

there was a canteen in the building and there were people on my team who'd bring a full fry, beans and all, to their desks. The dirty plates would sit there till the evening. Sometimes they'd be there for days.

I'd say the office smelled rank with all the eggs & beans being munched and gases being expelled.

rgodard80a

Greengrant wrote: »

People have just as much time as they ever had in the day, 24 hours. With less tasks to do.

Nope.

People are living further away from their jobs, with longer commutes either via public transport or driving in worsening traffic.
Couples may both have to work and take turns trying to drop the kids off/collect them from school or the like.

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OldMrBrennan83 wrote: »

They could get away to feck with that ****e.

I agree.

I usually either "have an appointment in town at lunchtime" or I join it but put it on mute

Greengrant

rgodard80a wrote: »

Nope.

People are living further away from their jobs, with longer commutes either via public transport or driving in worsening traffic.
Couples may both have to work and take turns trying to drop the kids off/collect them from school or the like.

Dishwasher, washing machines etc give people more spare time than they had before these appliances were introduced.

Grayson

Bigbagofcans wrote: »

I'd say the office smelled rank with all the eggs & beans being munched and gases being expelled.

Horrible. There was one guy who used to put his dirty plate into his desk drawer with the plan to drop it off at the dishwasher on the way to lunch. Sometimes he'd have days of plates piled up in his drawer. He had a tub of butter in it for toast that went mouldy.

rgodard80a

Greengrant wrote: »

Dishwasher, washing machines etc give people more spare time than they had before these appliances were introduced.

That was literally generations ago.
Don't forget that the horseless carriage also sped up peoples commute.

Greengrant

rgodard80a wrote: »

That was literally generations ago.
Don't forget that the horseless carriage also sped up peoples commute.

It's wrong to say we have less time than ever and overly dramatic. We are lucky to be born in such prosperous times with such great opportunity.

rgodard80a

Greengrant wrote: »

It's wrong to say we have less time than ever and overly dramatic.

There's plenty of people who work in Dublin but commute from one or more counties away. I've personally known people commuting to Dublin daily from Gorey, Carlow, Portarlington, Mullingar, Dundalk etc.

A 9 to 5 job with 3-4 hours of commuting on top of that is "time poor", with maybe an hour or two tops in the evening if you don't take the "8 hours of sleep" recommendation too seriously.

So it's no wonder that people get into work, maybe delayed by the commute and grab some food at their desk to try and catch up and fingers crossed make it out in time to avoid the worse of the traffic on their way home.

Berserker

Always have breakfast before I leave the house, even if I'm running late. Would never eat it at my desk.

ohfa6muwtsvkc1

I prefer eating at the desk, allows for browsing the news and reading some emails. I'll recant to the kitchen for a cuppa afterwards though for chat.

Dakotabigone

I eat breakfast at home before I go to work. What other non work related things are acceptable at a work place?

ohfa6muwtsvkc1

Dakotabigone wrote: »

I eat breakfast at home before I go to work. What other non work related things are acceptable at a work place?

Drinking water? Going to the toilet?

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Dakotabigone wrote: »

I eat breakfast at home before I go to work. What other non work related things are acceptable at a work place?

We use one of the meeting rooms to use a foam roller/hockey ball.

The perils of a seated job, tight hip flexors.

mikeecho

I've eaten my meals at my desk . It frees up my lunch break to do stuff I want to do.

rgodard80a

Dakotabigone wrote: »

I eat breakfast at home before I go to work. What other non work related things are acceptable at a work place?

It may not be "work related" but food and drink are a basic human need.

It depends how progressive your company is.
I.T. companies have all sorts of extras, like free fruit, commercial grade coffee machines, gym/fitness classes before work starts, health screenings, pool tables and dart boards, maybe subsidized canteens etc.
Its the "Google effect" and other I.T. companies have to compete for decent staff.

Most companies will allow you to make standard personal phone calls and maybe are flexible with your work hours when necessary if you're not customer facing.

mikeecho

rgodard80a wrote: »

It may not be "work related" but food and drink are a basic human need.

It depends how progressive your company is.
I.T. companies have all sorts of extras, like free fruit, commercial grade coffee machines, gym/fitness classes before work starts, health screenings, pool tables and dart boards, maybe subsidized canteens etc.
Its the "Google effect" and other I.T. companies have to compete for decent staff.

Most companies will allow you to make standard personal phone calls and maybe are flexible with your work hours when necessary if you're not customer facing.

Don't be rediculas.. get back to work mining coal.

ProudDUB

uncommon_name wrote: »

If it stinks then don't bring it in and have some respect for other people. I sit right beside the door of the canteen and I have gone home about 10 times in the 4 years working here because someone has brought in Seafood Chowder and stank the place out. Everyone else sits there and puts up with it. F**k that, I am not sitting there with the place smelling like a prostitutes fanny.

Go to HR & get them to put a ban on microwaving or reheating any thing fishy. Don't just have a moan for your own sake, but tell them the whole building reeks & do they really want visitors, clients, customers etc etc thinking the place smells like a fish factory?

It may sound like over kill, but it worked a treat in my last job. Took about 3/4 months for everyone to get with the program, but once they put signs on the actual microwave doors (and in multiple languages too) explaining why the smell permeated the whole building, people copped on.

Unless HR sit near the canteen/break room, they may not be aware of how bad a problem it is.

uncommon_name

ProudDUB wrote: »

Go to HR & get them to put a ban on microwaving or reheating any thing fishy. Don't just have a moan for your own sake, but tell them the whole building reeks & do they really want visitors, clients, customers etc etc thinking the place smells like a fish factory?

It may sound like over kill, but it worked a treat in my last job. Took about 3/4 months for everyone to get with the program, but once they put signs on the actual microwave doors (and in multiple languages too) explaining why the smell permeated the whole building, people copped on.

Unless HR sit near the canteen/break room, they may not be aware of how bad a problem it is.

Unfortunately we are a small(ish) company. About 45 people and there is no HR department. So it's quite difficult to complain about it without everyone knowing its me that complained. I'll just continue to go home or to a "meeting" . It doesn't happen too often anyway.
Our office is quite small too so it stinks the whole place out, directors and all smell it too but no one says anything or if they do they say it like its a joke.
We have clients and visitors in our office all the time so I am surprised no one high up has said anything yet.

ProudDUB

45 is a decent amount of people. Is there no one there who takes care of payroll, sick days, the hiring & firing etc etc? Go to them.

Or go rogue and take care of it yourself. Make up a few signs. Get them laminated. Acquire some Super Glue. Go into work early one morning & afix the signs to the microwave door, the door of the fridge & on the wall nearby. Then act all innocent like, when people ask who put them up.

amcalester

ProudDUB wrote: »

45 is a decent amount of people. Is there no one there who takes care of payroll, sick days, the hiring & firing etc etc? Go to them.

Or go rogue and take care of it yourself. Make up a few signs. Get them laminated. Acquire some Super Glue. Go into work early one morning & afix the signs to the microwave door, the door of the fridge & on the wall nearby. Then act all innocent like, when people ask who put them up.

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission!

Foweva Awone

I do but it's generally just a can of Diet Coke and a cereal bar. I'm dealing with clients all the time so really shouldn't even have that. I try to scoff it down when there's no one there.

Optimalprimerib

evil_seed wrote: »

I think there's something wrong with people that do this. I see people do it in our office and it really annoys me. We've a massive canteen area, eat there ffs! And they have lunch there too. And sometimes it stinks. Really grinds my gears

It is the stink of food that gets to me. Breakfast not so much, but lunch in an already poorly ventilated and claustrophobic office? Yuck.

Time away from the desk is important too.

Kintarō Hattori

Absolutely. I'm up at 6am and out the door for 6:30 so have no time to get something at home, plus I don't want to wake a sleeping baby. Currently eating a cream cheese bagel.

Gimme A Pound

I also really dislike when people eat strong smelling, greasy, crumb dropping foods at their desk in an open plan office. Just use the canteen ffs.

I don't see how eating at your desk saves time. If you're going to be leaving your desk anyway, it takes the same amount of time to eat your food in the canteen.

klm1

I don't mind eating at the desk, I'm in before anyone else most days and have my breakfast in peace at my desk instead of going to the communal canteen and meeting people from other companies at breakfast. Some of my work mates eat theirs later in the morning and it definitely makes the place feel more cosy.

This thing with fish in the microwave really fukks me off though, we have someone from another company who heats fish in the communal canteen at least 1 lunch time per week. The thing is that on the days he does it, you can hear a chorus of 'what animal cooked fish in here', 'who the hell's eating manky fish' and other protestations. All of which he must hear, but it doesn't stop him. Apart from how disgusting microwaved fish must be, I think it's hugely disrespectful to everyone else.

Also, untidy desks, eating at your desk is fine, but clean up after yourself. We have a girl here who comes in late every morning, then sits at her desk grazing from a lidl shopping bag for large parts of the day. Her desk constantly looks like a pig sty.

It would be a tad awkward in a classroom.

uncommon_name

ProudDUB wrote: »

45 is a decent amount of people. Is there no one there who takes care of payroll, sick days, the hiring & firing etc etc? Go to them.

Or go rogue and take care of it yourself. Make up a few signs. Get them laminated. Acquire some Super Glue. Go into work early one morning & afix the signs to the microwave door, the door of the fridge & on the wall nearby. Then act all innocent like, when people ask who put them up.

It's all kind of done between the directors and 1 admin staff. Be hard to complain about it anonymously without everyone knowing.

One of the lads behind me just informed me of his lovely lunch today, fish pie. I shall start packing my bag now so

Ah I have put up signs before about keeping the fridge clean, cleaning the coffee machine, keeping the sink empty and just putting stuff in the dishwasher. They are all ignored so adding another one will just be the same.

spodoinkle

Place I used to work, large call centre, ones were bringing in plates of dinner and eating at the desk! It was only stopped because a room was split between call centre and admin only staff, the admin would sit and eat a big dinner at the desk for half an hour and then head off on a one hour dinner break - call centre staff seen this and rared up.

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spodoinkle wrote: »

Place I used to work, large call centre, ones were bringing in plates of dinner and eating at the desk! It was only stopped because a room was split between call centre and admin only staff, the admin would sit and eat a big dinner at the desk for half an hour and then head off on a one hour dinner break - call centre staff seen this and rared up.

Why?

Surely if they were eating at their desk it was so they could work at the same time?

Lots of people in my job do that so it frees up the lunch hour to do something like go to gym, play football, go to shops etc...

klm1

....... wrote: »

Why?

Surely if they were eating at their desk it was so they could work at the same time?

Lots of people in my job do that so it frees up the lunch hour to do something like go to gym, play football, go to shops etc...

I think the point was that they were eating their lunch at the desk and then heading off out on a 1hour lunch break. Clearly flouting the system. This annoyed other workers, understandably.

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klm1 wrote: »

I think the point was that they were eating their lunch at the desk and then heading off out on a 1hour lunch break. Clearly flouting the system. This annoyed other workers, understandably.

I understand the point - its the norm where I work - people eat at their desk to free up lunch hour for non eating activities.

How is it flouting the system?

If you can work while you eat then what difference does it make if you eat at your desk and then go out for an hour?

Gazzmonkey

lol going by some of the above comments, you would hate me in the office as I eat a full fry at my desk every morning. And yes I'm very noisy and there's grease everywhere.

amcalester

....... wrote: »

I understand the point - its the norm where I work - people eat at their desk to free up lunch hour for non eating activities.

How is it flouting the system?

If you can work while you eat then what difference does it make if you eat at your desk and then go out for an hour?

Id say the Call Center staff aren't allowed eat while on calls, so it could be seen as unfair if other staff, namely the admins, can eat their lunch and then take their full hour when the CC staff can't.

GreeBo

backspin. wrote: »

We had this, people leaving dirty dishes for the cleaner. A few complaints were made and everyone was informed the cleaner would not be doing people's dishes. Worked out.

We still have this problem, despite having signs everywhere.

Oh, forgot to mention, there is a dishwasher 2 foot from the sink.:mad:

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amcalester wrote: »

Id say the Call Center staff aren't allowed eat while on calls, so it could be seen as unfair if other staff, namely the admins, can eat their lunch and then take their full hour when the CC staff can't.

Wow - if the nature of your job is such that you cant eat while you work then why would you complain because someone else can? What a petty workplace culture.

amcalester

....... wrote: »

Wow - if the nature of your job is such that you cant eat while you work then why would you complain because someone else can? What a petty workplace culture.

Have you ever worked in a large open plan office/call center?

I have, and it's very much a case of if Group A get something then Group B have to get it too.

Never mind that it's completely impractical for Group B, and Group A having it has no impact on Group B. It's can be real playground stuff in those places.

Never really bothered me when I worked answering phones, but others would get really worked up about supposed preferential treatment.

klm1

....... wrote: »

I understand the point - its the norm where I work - people eat at their desk to free up lunch hour for non eating activities.

How is it flouting the system?

If you can work while you eat then what difference does it make if you eat at your desk and then go out for an hour?

In any business where phone calls are a part of your normal day, it's not normally acceptable to eat a full meal, lunch or breakfast, at your desk. Eating during phone calls, finishing off mouthfulls, hurrying calls because your food is getting cold, almost choking trying to finish a mouthful in order to take a call before they hang up, not concentrating on work because you're eating. All common problems with eating at your desk.

Lunch break, is just that, a break to eat your lunch on. Where I work, its up to you where you eat that lunch, at your desk, in the canteen, at home, standing on your head in the yard, whatever floats your boat. But it's not permissible to eat your lunch during normal work time and then take your full lunch break elsewhere.

I don't have a problem with someone eating snacks at their desk, or eating lunch/breakfast at their desk if they are just too busy to take a full break. But if someone who works with me ate their lunch whilst working and then disappeared for a full hour, I'd pull them up on it.

amcalester wrote: »

Have you ever worked in a large open plan office/call center?

I have, and it's very much a case of if Group A get something then Group B have to get it too.

Never mind that it's completely impractical for Group B, and Group A having it has no impact on Group B. It's can be real playground stuff in those places.

Never really bothered me when I worked answering phones, but others would get really worked up about supposed preferential treatment.

Open-plan offices are almost an environment of their own, if not tightly controlled they can spiral into an almost free for all, because everyone wants what they see everyone else getting.

uch

I used to work in a Large open plan office that was full of **** so I used to get a Tuna, Egg & Onion Roll for lunch, eat it at my desk and wait for the Bum trumpet to start playing, needless to say I got moved to another office

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amcalester wrote: »

Have you ever worked in a large open plan office/call center?

Always in large open plan offices and never experienced anything like that kind of pettiness but dont doubt it goes on alright.

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klm1 wrote: »

In any business where phone calls are a part of your normal day, it's not normally acceptable to eat a full meal, lunch or breakfast, at your desk. Eating during phone calls, finishing off mouthfulls, hurrying calls because your food is getting cold, almost choking trying to finish a mouthful in order to take a call before they hang up, not concentrating on work because you're eating.

Fair enough if you are on the phone all day, or indeed any role where it would not be possible to eat without a customer/client/patient or whatever to be aware of it. Our receptionist doesnt eat at her desk because she has to deal with people.

But cant see the issue with people working in desk roles where they are working on a computer for the most part - if the phone rings, leave the lunch to one side til its finished.

amcalester

....... wrote: »

Always in large open plan offices and never experienced anything like that kind of pettiness.

Either you've been lucky or I've been unlucky

klm1

klm1 wrote: »

I don't have a problem with someone eating snacks at their desk, or eating lunch/breakfast at their desk if they are just too busy to take a full break. But if someone who works with me ate their lunch whilst working and then disappeared for a full hour, I'd pull them up on it.

And you would be told to F -off as its none of your business.

I have never worked in a job where set lunch times were enforced (either the time you take it or the duration you take) and I'd have zero time for some busy body colleague sticking their nose in. In my previous job for example we took about an hour for lunch. 2 or 3 of us always walked into town to one of a selection of places we would get a takeaway sandwich/roll from (I was one of these) while 2 or 3 others always brought their lunch. We normally took lunch from 1 to 2pm. The group of us who would go out to get a sandwich would head off around 12:40 to be back for one, we would call back to the desks and the others with their own lunch would then come up to our tea room and we would take our hours lunch together.

I can imagine you would be the sort to start kicking complaining about this setup yet it never bothered anyone where I worked.