[Alma]

I'm trying to help a human resources friend in a private corporation work through a backlog of employee complaints; the majority of which involve being required to work through the lunch hour. This seems pretty simple to me. The law in this country is very clear about giving employees a lunch break, but a number of the managers here have a 'the work comes first' attitude. They want the workers to take comp time when we're talking 10-12 hour work days. I got excellant feedback from 'Y' participants on another issue and would appreciate responses from managers and employees on this.

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Name : Alma, Gender : Female, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, City : Kempner, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : contract employee, Education level : 4 Years of College, 

[Lucy22459]

I have run into this also - people routinely having to skip lunch or eat at their desks and continue working. I think it's terrible. Regradless of what the laws says, it is just good business to let your employees refuel their bodies during the work day. Our brains require that fuel to work efficiently, and hungry employees will not work at their optimum level. They will be slower and more prone to mistakes. The lunch break also serves as an opportunity for people to take a time-out from their work day, maybe get in some exercise or to socialize. This is esspecially important when the work day is 10-12 hours long. When people are not allowed to take their lunch breaks, they become burned out, angry, and feel that they are being used by the company. This also effects the overall efficiency of the employees. Regarding the legality of not allowing lunch breaks, it really depends if the employees are hourly or salaried. For hourly employees, the law is very clear. On an 8 hour work day, and hour lunch must be given between the 3rd and 5th hours of work. The company does not need to pay for this hour and the employees are free to go and do whatever they want. The employer is also required to give two 15-minute breaks during the day, one before lunch and one after. These breaks are paid by the employer, but the employer can designate where these breaks are to be taken. In the case of salaried employees, the law is a lot less detailed. This is because salaried employees are usually professional people and have more influence with their employers than hourly employees. It is the belief that professional people are not as easily taken advantage of by their employers. My opinion is, that regardless of the labor law, it just makes good business sense to allow people to take their lunch breaks. Employers who think they are gaining by requiring people to work through their lunch are really very short sighted.

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Name : Lucy22459, Gender : F, Age : 26, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Trust no manager]

If the managers at this corporation have a 'work comes first' attitude it's clear to me, and it will be clear to their staff, that they have a 'concern for my employees health and well being come last' attitude. It is very bad for a person's health and well being to work a full day, 10 to 12 hours as you say, without a decent break. Such practices cause high stress, they can lead to increased illness and burnout. Civilised countries make laws to ensure breaks are given to workers that have people with more money and power than them in charge of their work lives. These people aren't asking for a swim in a spa pool every second hour or a paid dancing lessons, they're asking for a lunch break and to be treated like a human being, not a machine that can be thrown away when it's broken through overuse. It's the people in power over these employees who are currently helping to break them. I find this behaviour morally reprehensible as well as illegal, I also find it sad that people in a position of power can so easily get away with abusing others rights and breaking the law. From a purely business point of view it's bad business to treat employees this way. They are likely to do better work if they take reasonable breaks and are less likely to complain about smaller things if they start getting treated like human beings. You say your friend is working in human resourses, your friend should play their part in making sure the human is put back into human resourses, if they don't they're failing in their job.

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Name : Trust no manager, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 35, City : Wellington, State : NA Country : New Zealand, Occupation : Librarian, Education level : Technical School, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Kerry]

There's no way I'd be able to function, physically, without some kind of lunch break. I have blood sugar issues. I can manage a couple of hours, but 10 hours? No way. Nor am I likely to put up with that.

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Name : Kerry, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Lesbian, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Wiccan, Age : 31, City : Ventura, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Stage Worker, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[justin26884]

i would say that there's a certain number, somewhere between 25k and 35k at which your average worker will feel invested enough in his job to work thyrough schedualed breaks and the like. i've yet to be paid anywhere near that.

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Name : justin26884, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Karl]

The law and good sense both go against the managers. Breaks are good business because they enhance productivity and alertness. Skipping lunch is also unhealthy and, for some people, dangerous.

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Name : Karl, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 44, City : Duesseldorf, State : NA Country : Germany, Occupation : retired computer jock, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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