I work from 8-5pm every day. I am required to take a 1 hour lunch break that I have to take as near to the middle of my shift as I possibly can. I have to take the full hour, am not allowed to split it up, and can’t take it at the end of the day and leave early.
I usually take my lunch from 12:00-1:00. This is just enough time for me to drive home, feed my cat, eat for 20-25 minutes, then drive back to work. I live pretty close so I don’t pack a lunch or eat out.
My boss and all my coworkers usually bring their lunch and eat at their desks and work during their lunch breaks. Every single day.
I refuse to do that because I’m required to take an hour for lunch and I don’t get paid for it even if I work through it. My coworkers don’t get paid for it either but still work during their lunches.
I didn’t get a chance to eat breakfast today so I’m really hungry. It’s 11:45 and I’ve been excited to go home and eat because my partner has the day off work and I want to see him.
But I just got a notification that my boss is scheduling a mandatory cross-team meeting at 12:00 and I am required to attend. We have another required meeting at 1:00 pm that doesn’t end until around 3:30.
This means the only time I can take my lunch is at 3:30. So I’ll be hungry and distracted all day, finally get to go home and eat, and then I have to go back to work for 30 minutes before driving back home.
I asked if I could just take my laptop home and work the last 30 minutes of my shift remotely since I’ll be going home for my lunch anyway and my boss said no and told me I should just order food to the office instead of going home.
She makes like 4X my salary. I can’t afford to be eating out whenever like she can. It’s such bullshit.