How many people don't believe in breaks at work? (employee, profit, payments)

[brownbagg]

we get 15 at 9, 30 at noon and 15 at 2.

if we give up our break we can have an hour lunch

[kokonutty]

Originally Posted by stormynh

It seems like people here don't believe in taking breaks at work here? Has that become a bad thing or even making a phone call to a family member is that a thing of the past? I recall my dad calling my mom every day from work and I used to call my husband when I worked? What the heck is going on these days?????

I don't understand why you are concerned about others not taking breaks. Isn't that their choice? As far as personal calls on company time is concerned, what is the company policy?

[MJ7]

We take breaks whenever we want, the environment here is pretty nice and open. Come to work, meet your requires and do as you please with the rest of your day.

[Utopian Slums]

I once worked at an insurance company that had our times "logged into the queue" tabulated, including our "not available" time.

That meant little time for bathroom breaks, personal calls, snacks, etc, outside of lunch (that we were encouraged not to take.)

Did they need to hire more staff? Of course! Were they going to "waste" "their" money? Of course not! Did their turnover cost them more in the long run? Of course!

But they are still running along like this and using YOUR tax dollars to do it from government contacts. Because when people are desperate enough, they will work through anything.

[doodlemagic]

I'm all about breaks at work. I think majority of people are less productive not taking a few minutes here and there to step away from the desk and take a walk, make a phone call, just do something to shake things up and get away from the desk.

[unixfed]

I think it really depends on the nature of your work and the culture of your organization. For example, are you in a call center where hold times are longer and other people have to work harder for every minute you're gone? Or do you work a desk job where you make your own schedule?

Here, people get up for breaks all the time. They walk across the street to get a cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts, and we even have organized weekly walks to get people up from the desk and outside.

It's also pretty common to go use the company gym during work hours. However, other companies I've worked at have frowned upon even getting up from your desk too often or for too long.

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by Utopian Slums

I once worked at an insurance company that had our times "logged into the queue" tabulated, including our "not available" time.

That meant little time for bathroom breaks, personal calls, snacks, etc, outside of lunch (that we were encouraged not to take.)

Did they need to hire more staff? Of course! Were they going to "waste" "their" money? Of course not! Did their turnover cost them more in the long run? Of course!

But they are still running along like this and using YOUR tax dollars to do it from government contacts. Because when people are desperate enough, they will work through anything.

Call centers are notorious for this type of behavior.

[DONNIEANDDONNA417]

I mean who actually works at a job with no breaks. Is it really worth it?
Don't kill yourself from overworking at a job..nobody cares and jobs come a dime a dozen.

I had a coworker that literally had a heart attack at her desk from working so much. How about they laid her off because she had too many doctors appointments. Geez!

[Shirina]

The only problem I have with people who don't take breaks is that sometimes they can raise the bar for everyone else.

I remember some nutjob who actually came in to work and worked for free during her vacation. It ticked a number of people off because we didn't want the bosses thinking, "Hey, she worked during her vaction so why aren't you? Or ... are you just as loyal and as hard working as she is. Hmm?"

The issue is that, if some people don't take breaks, the bosses can then begin assuming that no one is taking breaks - or that no one needs them. Working through your breaks and lunch will become expected and if you refuse, you could potentially jeopardize your chances at promotions, raises, and other perks.

In factories, though, you usually don't have to worry about this issue because everyone is supposed to take regular breaks - often for safety reasons - that require machines to be shut down (some places use breaks to do routine maintenance checks). So everyone is bounced from their work station at specific times. Office jobs, on the other hand, can be ruined by a couple of eager beavers looking to score some butt-kissing points by working through their breaks.

[luzianne]

Originally Posted by joe from dayton

I believe in employees taking breaks and eating lunch away from their work station. There are a number of times a year when we have periods of intense activity and a lot of overtime, so we cater in food to make sure everyone can sit down and eat a meal sometime during their shift.

Hmmm, I don't know. At some point it becomes counterproductive. I know when I am required to work extra hours (overtime) because of a heavy workload, I actually am much less productive. For that matter, if I know I am only going to work 4 hours instead of 8, I tend to get almost as much work done in 4 hours as I could in 8. I think it's because when I am working 8 hours I tend to pace myself to avoid getting too tired, whereas if I am only working 4 hours I put everything I have into it for those 4 hours because I know then I am done.

In fact, I wonder if people might be more productive if the regular workday was only 4 to 6 hours a day instead of 8. Working 8 hours a day really takes a lot out of you, or at least it does me!