My manager told us in a team meeting that our branch director asked that, from now on, every employee should eat lunch and spend lunch time in the lunch break room with everyone else. They have not made this mandatory, but it was basically implied that we need to comply to avoid being excluded from the team socially.
This requirement comes from the fact that many employees use their lunch time to do other solo activities, like :
- Taking a walk outside
- Making personal calls
- Listening to podcasts
- Going back home for lunch
- Going out to a restaurant
- Making personal errands
Now the director wants to stop that to improve team cohesion and favour exchanging and talking with coworkers over lunch time instead.
So, for now, I will continue to listen to podcasts and walk on my lunch break, because I consider it my time to unwind.
I already spend from 08h30am to 04h30pm at work, 5 days a week. Why can't I enjoy 50 minutes of alone time per day on my lunch break ?