Your work breaks

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I'm sure there is an EU law that says if you work at a PC screen you must take regular breaks, like every 40mins to an hour or so, but I suppose companies don't adhere to them.

I wonder also how most companies structure their breaks and how long they are. Traditionally you have 30 mins to an hour break at around 12 and that's it for the day. That didn't work for me since I'd be starving until lunch time and then once I'd eaten a huge lunch I'd be falling asleep in the afternoon and starve until I got home until 6pm.

I wonder if any company divides the hour into three 20min breaks, morning, afternoon and late afternoon. That would cut out long stretches of working for 5 hours.

 

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I work on my own and i can have breaks basically when ever i want.

 

see HERE

and HERE if you want it chapter and verse

 

I think most countries have laws that state that you are not allowed to work more than 3 hours without a break of at least 15 minutes (at least here in Switzerland).

I think that it would also be up to the individual companies to regulate when and for how long you get to have a break. I'm lucky that our company doesn't regulate anything and I can take a break when I want. I tend not to have long breaks but many more coffee breaks (basically when I get up and get a coffee).

Maybe you need to sort it out with your supervisor and get some sort of official viewpoint.

 

^ thats the same with me.

 

What are these break things you speak about?

 

When you get promoted above slave you'll find out.

 

Ah yes, now where's that photo ...



"slave" craigie at work

 

I find this discussion very interesting. I worked in a highly regulated environment when i was young - everyone took their lunches precisely when they were supposed to, came back exactly on time etc, and were admonished if they didn't. As a result of this, people seemed to spend an absolutely inordinate amount of time trying to find ways to bend or get round the rules, sneaking little breaks here and there, taking longer breaks when they thought they could get away with it - as a sort of 'screw you' to the employer.

In pretty much every environment I've worked in over the past five years or so, I've been left to do what I like break-wise. Funnily enough, I now take about fifteen minutes for lunch most days, and usually eat it at my desk We take it in turns to make tea in our team - and usually go through about six a day - but, again, these are all drunk at my desk. It just goes to show - you treat employees like adults, they'll (mostly) respond like adults.

Don't get me started on smoking breaks though - that's one thing I've never understood, and it seems to be a rule of thumb that if your manager smokes, then loads of other people at your workplace do as well. Like to see what would happen if I worked somewhere that the manager was a smoker and I disappeared for fifteen minutes four times a day to drink a Coke.

 

I also agree, I used to have the same amount of break when people go for smoking breaks (I'm a non smoker). I used to go out with people on their breaks just to have a chat tbh lol and try to convince them to stop smoking. But not once had a manager/employer told me that i cannot have the same break people get for smoking. Now, like you say, I just have a break whenever I feel, providing I dont take the p*ss ofcourse....

 

Slap UKDarkstar

 

Soz, couldn't resist .... I was on a break

 

You could have at least got the hair right

 

I have the same experiences as Zeb (big surprise). I can understand the necessity to staff phones and whatnot, but every time I've worked for a place that scheduled lunches (and sometimes short breaks!), there seemed to be a "get around the system" mentality. At one call center where I worked, some operators would go as far as to "bounce" calls to the next person in queue. Little did they know I could track that stat...

Fortunately, I haven't worked under those sort of conditions for a long time. If I come in late, I stay late. If I need to leave early, I either come in early or work in the evening to make it up. The primary goal isn't to work exactly 40 hours and be done for the week; the primary goal is to complete the tasks required to accomplish the mission, whether that be 30 hours or 60. Provided you are accomplishing the mission, meeting or exceeding expectations, breaks are not an issue.

 

Happens at our work, we work 5 hours a day and we have a 15 minute break when we are told to. If we dont take it, we lose it...

 

I previously worked in a Transport Coordinator position (for the NHS) and worked in front of a computer screen all day, Dual Screen actually and a Lavish one might I add so my eyes did tend to end up going a bit Square...

I was told there that I was entitled to have 5 mins at most each 60 mins away from the computer screen that would just mean time spent not looking at the screen for 5 mins so I more than often was effectively still working for these 5 mins when I wasn't looking at the screen. Occassionally I was allowed to go outside for some fresh air now and again and if they weren't keeping an eye on you, I didn't take it off my 30 min Lunch break balance used later on...

They mean "you can not have to look at the computer screen for 5 mins each 60 mins if you wish" even be it still infront of the computer screen but maybe just doing some work on your desk (reading, writing, sorting out files and other kind of general stuff)

 

I'm with Dazza, if I didn't go out with the smokers I'd never get a break. Although here at my new job I don't know any smokers, if the work wasn't so slack I would have to take up smoking again.

 

Smokers are a law in there own, I mean its 16:53 and we are done at 5pm but there is 3 of them having a smoke outside my office, ffs.

 

^ they're out having a fag, your browsing certforums

 

While doing my work ;)