We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info

The employee, who says her job “requires a lot of concentration” and is “computer-facing all day”, says she can’t eat first thing in the morning, so has something later on at her desk. However, she claims her line manager recently pulled her to one side to let her know her behaviour “had been noticed”.

Posting on Mumsnet, the woman said: “All of a sudden my line manager took me aside and said ‘it had been noticed’ that I was heating up my breakfast and that I was no longer to do this as it was in work time, that the microwave and toaster were only for lunch breaks, unless I decided to split my break over both.

“This seems ridiculous to me as it takes max five minutes and I then bring it back to eat at my desk whilst working. I have seen colleagues gone for much much longer than this if they get into social conversation with colleagues.

“Also, this instruction was directed only to me, not the team or department as a whole, so it feels very personal.”

The woman used to do this at a previous workplace with no complaints, Liverpool Echo reports.

“I can’t eat first thing in the morning so I have always eaten mid-morning, at my desk, sometimes something cold, sometimes something that needs a minute or two in the staff microwave,” she added.

“Past employers have never had an issue with this.

“I’m fairly new to this job but in the past two months, no-one has ever raised it as an issue.

“We have access to a microwave and toaster so sometimes I’ll bring in a tub of beans, or eggs that I’ve already put in a bowl and whisked at home so it takes two minutes in the microwave to heat them.

“All during the space of time it takes me to make my first cup of tea of the day – which is taken after having already put in 1-2 hours work since I got in that morning.

“Am I being unreasonable here? Do others do this at work with no issue? As I said, past employers have never had issue with it and I don’t take the p*** with it.”

One mum said the woman wasn’t being treated like an adult.

She continued: “It annoys me when a workplace doesn’t treat people like adults. So I would probably sweetly say ‘Okay that’s fine, I’ll take the five minutes out of my lunch hour and just have a 55 minute lunch break’.

“I imagine smokers take up much longer out of their day to have smoke breaks.”

Others thought the woman was in the wrong.

One mum wrote: “Beans/egg on toast is taking the p*** and stinks the office out. I’ve never, ever seen anyone at work have more than a bowl of cereal or a yogurt.

“You are being unreasonable – and cheeky.”

Another said: “I used to have a colleague who did this and it annoyed me so much.

“While she was stirring up her porridge and blowing it to cool it down, she couldn’t properly perform tasks.

“She could only type with one hand, often couldn’t answer the phone as she was chewing. It would take her longer to so a simple email or input some data while she was eating than it would normally, and while this was only for 10-15 minutes per day, it was every day and very annoying.

“Also microwave eggs stink.”

Source: Read Full Article