The company at which I'm employed mandates a one-hour lunch from 11:30am-12:30pm every day. When I hired on, I requested that I be permitted to take a half-hour lunch and leave a half-hour early: my request was not granted. The reason I only wanted a half-hour lunch was because I try to bring my lunch every day to save money (and not eat out a restaurant every day), and basically because I really don't need that much time in the middle of my day to do what I need to do.
So, I eat lunch at my desk every day. I check my email, browse some social networking sites, read the news... whatever it takes to pass the hour. Sometimes I even get so bored that I just do work on my lunch, but I try not to make a habit out of that.
When I'm sitting at my desk obviously shoving food in my mouth, don't just drop by and ask me the status of a project. In most cases I will have kept you informed enough regarding the project that you will be able to check the status yourself. Please don't be lazy; just take the time to look it up yourself and DON'T bother me on my lunch.
Do I listen in on your conversations about where you're going to lunch today, then follow you there and ask you questions about work when you're CLEARLY trying to enjoy your time away from it?! NO. I expect the same respect from you.
At a former employer, associates would write "LUNCH" on the inside of a folder, then mount the folder upright in the sides of their desks indicating they were on lunch and not to bother them - this place had no mandate on the length of lunches but each associate decided their own time for lunch (everyone went at a different time as they chose). I wish I could do the same thing at my current employer (make a sign indicating I'm on lunch and not to bother me), but I'm sure I would find that most people would want to talk to me even more, especially to ask me questions about the sign.
I enjoy the low volume of the office when no one's around during lunch time, because no one else is really around me then. Please don't spoil it by interrupting my lunch.
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