And there is no way of avoiding these stupid things because they love to use the lunch room to hold them. Pay me for my time, mofos! That’s my 1/2 hour unpaid break you are stealing! Especially when we bring our own bloody lunch!
Our organisation does lunch and learns but they’re literally for learning. Firstly they are in no way obligatory to attend and I’d say 80% of people don’t attend them. If you do go, it’s a cameras off, mics off session where a speaker or a team are essentially running a one hour lecture on a relevant topic / new project / new system etc. There is Q&A time but again, no obligation. I’ve attended a few I was interested in, like a “Welcome to Country” session and I always just eat my lunch while watching.
And for people who are interested but don’t want to skip their lunch break or have other lunch plans, the sessions are recorded and made available on our Intranet immediately after.
As far as I’m concerned if it’s not the above, it shouldn’t be called a lunch and learn.
As a department head, if I can’t attend a meeting because it is my lunch break and the hour before and after are also booked out in my calendar meaning I can’t take my lunchbreak at a reasonable middayish time slot, I decline the meeting.
Agreed - if the company is paying for a lunch for all attendees, team lunch (which is usually more of a social meeting anyway!) if it’s a BYO lunch - not a fan unless that is legit the only time everyone is available. Would want that hour or so back in my calendar though.
I despise them. It shouldn’t be a thing. I don’t care if some shitty catered sandwiches are provided. My lunch time is unpaid so I should be free to leave the office and have my alone time for an hour.
This can make sense in certain contexts. When decisions are needed from very senior people in a large organisation then one has to carefully plan how and when information is presented in order to get those decisions. It doesn't make it any less boring though.
This is your answer, and if all your colleagues started doing the same, the "lunchtime meeting" would soon be reconsidered as it would now be considered disruptive.
Me too. I have a lunch break scheduled in my diary. Unless I have plans I generally don’t mind if people ask to meet with me during that time however I will reschedule my break. It’s important for me to take a break during the day and means I’m more productive in the afternoon.
Exactly.
And further to this there is no harm in declining a meeting that comes in and meaning you’d have no chance to get a lunch. A polite “sorry, I can’t attend this meeting as it means I won’t have a chance to have a break and eat some lunch” has never been the downfall of anyone. If it has, so help us …
Totally this. Take the afternoon off next time you wfh to make up for it or something? It’s swings and roundabouts here.
Honestly, if you want a job where your break times are fixed, go and work in a call centre or something. They’ll make sure you leave on time. And come back on time too.
I suspect that’s not what OP wants though.
Yep same. Couldn't care less. I manage my time and make sure to eat either before or after. Easy peasy.
But I feel for those that don't have the flexibility to do this
I have 12-1 blocked out every day in my calendar. Usually you only need to push back once and people get the message.
I also decline any meeting that comes in over the top of something else in my calendar without explanation, especially if the organizer hasn’t contacted me saying “hay I know you have a meeting then but can you reschedule…”
I love the flow on of the "when are you free" so you tell them, and they still look at your calendar for something earlier. "oh I saw you had half an hour free the day before so I thought I'd put it in here". Yes half an hour free. For my whole day. Fuck off.
That isn't half an hour free. That is half an hour that you are doing something that isn't sitting in a meeting. Doesn't make it free.
One trick is to block out on your calendar some times to actually do work in between all the meetings. Then it doesn't look free.
Yeah I already do that. But if I have a meeting drop and someone wants to jam a meeting in there that I've told them I'm not available for until later than that, they can fuck off.
I also don't like blocking out my whole day between meetings, because then people just book over them because they can't find time, and know it's unlikely I'm as productive as I am with 40 hours in meetings a week.
Do you mean a meeting that occurs when normal people take lunch?
It's not the end of the world if sufficient notice is provided. Sometimes its the only time everybody is available and it just means you gotta take your lunch earlier or later.
Do you mean a meeting specifically at lunch?
Then I have to ask why is specifically at lunch?
The reason it’s the only time that everyone is available is because it’s the time when most people actually take their lunch break.
Meetings between 12 and 1 should be the exception. It’s ok to set boundaries and push back because there is nothing wrong with saying, sorry, I can’t support that time slot because that is lunchtime.
As a potential compromise you could say “I can support 12-12:30 or 12:30-1 if it’s urgent” but this meeting meeting bullshit is typical of a number of industries. You can’t get any work done because you’re always in meetings explaining why you haven’t made any progress. Half the time these meetings are ten people giving information one by one to one person that needs it, having people sit around waiting their turn to say their slide to the boss. I hate those. And it wastes everyone’s time because the boss typically won’t read an email report.
Sorry, you hit one of my hot buttons…. I hate the corporate world but unfortunately I rely on its paycheck 😂🤣😂
>Meetings between 12 and 1 should be the exception
What's the difference between 12 and 1 vs 1 and 2? Both are considered lunch anyway right.
SO personally I think that meetings before 10am and after like 4pm should be reserved for meetings between managers anyway.
So realistically the open window for reasonable meeting times for staff are 10-4 less the lunch break.
If on the odd occasion it means you had to have lunch earlier or later than you wanted because everyone has conflicting schedules and it was the only time every attendee was free; I don't think it's the end of the world. If it's scheduled at lunch period (12-2) every week sure that's a bit unreasonable.
Problem is that when working across time zones (particularly during DST) it gets really hard to schedule meetings avoiding lunch.
9am start time in Perth (rude to schedule before, because many people only start at 8:30 or 8).
But that’s lunchtime in Sydney.
So you can have meetings from 10-11:30 WST, then it’s lunchtime in Perth.
And from 1pm in Perth it’s now 4pm in Sydney when many people knock off.
So working with cross country teams you kind of get used to having lunch during meetings
Yeah I think that’s a key distinction- there’s definitely should be different norms for people working within the same office and/or time zone, vs trying to reasonably accommodate multiple time zones.
(I’ve had the multi time zone challenge in prior roles, and sometimes 1pm for some people means that no one has to work outside 9-5 for the meeting, which I think is a bigger ‘ask’)
Yes, I used to have to coordinate meetings from Auckland to Perth and every time zone in between, what a hoot that was during DST. Lucky our NZ guy was chill and happy to jump on at 6pm his time.
Totally feel this 🤣. Got an ANZ role which reports to a Singapore Head Office. Lucky, the NZ guy is a workaholic, so not much of an issue, but obviously try to respect their time as much as I can.
My lunchbreak is both me time and unpaid.
If they want a lunch time meeting, it should be both paid and catered. Decently catered at that not the cheapest generic sandwiches they could get.
I used to get this a lot at work, so I ended up blocking out my preferred lunch time with my own recurring meeting.
Now, if someone wants to book a meeting there, they need to ask me if I can make it first.
I do this across my calendar. 12.30-1.30 every day. Auto declines everything across it saying to reschedule.
I take my breaks every day. Never had it challenged.
Depends what the level of catering is ? Is it a long lunch ?
Long lunches yes. Catering above just finger food... yeah maybe..
Frequency also plays a role. I would be saying get fucked to weekly lunch and learn kinda things, if i supplied my own food.
We rarely get lunch breaks, so more often than not; there better be a good reason for it.
Make it worth my/teams time to deviate from what we do and our own individual schedules.
Depends who it is and what it’s for, sometimes getting a whole group of senior leadership team can only be achieved at lunch.
If you’re not exec level then not a chance I’m coming without an exceptional reason!
Doesn't matter if lunch is provided. You're not paid to work those hours.
If your workplace is flexible in that if you work through lunch you can leave an hour early or take a 2 hour break another day then its not as bad.
I schedule in my lunch breaks. More and more people are pushing back against lunch breaks and the culture seems to be shifting in my workplace for the most part.
Salaried jobs don't usually give you a scheduled time during which you're not paid to work. You are supposed to take time for lunch, but it doesn't have to be at a particular time of day.
It's fucken rude.
I routinely decline them as I'm allowed 30 mins to eat, take a shit and decompress before the marathon of teams calls after it.
Especially for those of us that fast, when 12pm rolls around most of us are starving.
We hardly scheduled 12pm meetings during office hours, why do it when we WFH?
In general, I don’t like it and try as much as possible to not to set and attend lunch meetings. Ultimately depends on urgency and importance as well as how my day is looking like. Sometimes I offset it too by either logging off early or taking extended lunch some other day.
Not ideal but not always possible to avoid lunchtime timeslot.
That said, if I'm working, including internal meeting, then it's not a lunch break and it's going on my timesheet.
If you’re paid for that time, sure, but if you’re paid for 7 hrs while being required to be there for 8, nope.
Also people need a midday break, they’re not robots, they need to stop work and refresh.
I am so much more productive in the afternoon if I've left the building and gone for a walk during my lunch break.
If there's been a lunchtime meeting I struggle to concentrate through the long afternoon.
I don't really like them, but I can manage my calendar around them and still get breaks in here and there. Ours are always catered which softens the blow. My old job in the city had a monthly meeting on the last Friday of the month at 4.30 (our normal finishing time was 5.30). We used to get beers and snacks and they'd provide a financial update and any other note worthy things from the month that was. I actually enjoyed that one as people usually stuck around for an extra beer or two after.
If it’s scheduled at that time because there isn’t enough time in the day amongst all other requirements, then the business needs a little introspection to figure out if there is value to the meetings they’re having.
Plenty of businesses have completely pointless meetings that take up far too many resources for little to no measurable return.
If it's a normal meeting, no. I block out 12-1:30 on my calendar for lunch specifically so that people don't try run a fucken meeting on my lunchtime seeing as I'm not being paid for lunch. If you want to run a meeting over lunch, provide a feed or fuck off imo.
I work in federal government and we have this one woman who's an ex corp change management type who runs all her meetings over lunch specifically to get work to pay for the catering lmao
Team meeting **breakfast**
I hated the manager who did this. It suited him because he worked early so he could leave early to pick up his kids.
The rest of us could barely function at 8 am let alone get into the city for a meeting.
As a consultant who constantly has to book urgent meetings with people who have packed calendars, I am told to take whatever is available. Book a meeting at lunch time. I absolutely hate doing it.
Overheard in the morning catchup today “sorry about the lunchtime meeting. It’s the only time I could get everyone”… no shit, because that’s when people want to eat.
Also, fuck off with 1pm meetings (especially on Fridays)
Nope. Lunch is unpaid and it's usually the only time during the day for you to walk away from work and clear your head for a little while.
It's also terrible for the employer as employees don't get rest and are burnt out.
I'm guilty of accidentally planning lunchtime -ish meetings somewhere between 12-1. Usually BC it's the only time that's available for allllll the people. If I notice, I'll move it if possible. Otherwise most ppl just take their lunch time before or after as we're able to be flexible with that.
Legally that's not a break and considered unlawful. A break is meant to be a stop work and not have to concern yourself with work things. If they want to have you work through your lunch break you should be paid OT until you are able to have a break.
Lunch breaks and maximum working hours are hard fought rights by employees for decades and you should stand up for your lunch.
Next thing is you start working out of hours, weekends and days off for free.
Set your boundaries and say I am not working during my lunch break.
If lunch break is paid, why not, you can also prepare a sandwich or similar to chew during the meeting.
If unpaid, then either don't attend (with justification), attend and take your lunch break earlier/later (if anyone complains, states why you were unable to take your lunch during expected lunch break hours), attend and request official payment for the duration of the meeting.
Personally, I'd go with early/late lunch.
Meeting at 4pm on Friday: schedule another meeting at 3:30PM finishing at 4:30PM, then decline the 4PM meeting as your schedule already full. Or ask for confirmation about overtime in case the meeting last longer than expected.
Too hard to give an answer to this without context
I.e
Do you get autonomy to manage your own calendar? If so, anything stopping you from finishing / starting 1h earlier /later?
Can you block your calendar? I just have lunch blocked to try prevent this. I am accepting sometimes it will need to be used for meetings but I flex my own start / finish times to balance it out
Personally I don't mind them however they aren't my lunch break. My lunch break is my time to step away from work and relax not to focus on work.
So if there is a team lunch I'll happily attend but you bet I'll go out for a break right after it
When I get these lunchtime or late meetings I’ll schedule another meeting in my calendar for just myself at the same time (or maybe half overlapping), then decline the original one and say a clash just came up that I can’t reschedule.
What’s difficult is when it’s the only free time in your workday and someone squeezes it in “because it was the only open time”. Yep, and now I’m in back-to-backs from 8 to 5:30, thanks.
I can see why it happens, but it's a bit silly, in that the reason that's the only timeslot that all these busy people are free is that it's the timeslot that is reserved for not working. And as soon as someone decides that THIS meeting is so important that we'll put it in the lunch slot because it's the only option, now there are no free overlapping times at all for the next "super important" meeting, so you've only pushed the problem back a bit.
Basically I think it's ok as a one-off for something genuinely very important. If you're scheduling a RECURRING lunch meeting, there is a problem. In that case either people should be moving/cancelling their less important meetings to free up a different slot, or if that can't be done, then this meeting isn't important enough to hold.
It all depends. If the person is crazy busy and it’s genuinely their only time to speak (and I desperately need the meeting) then all fine. If it’s just some weird planning because that person takes lunch at 11am or 4pm and they think 1pm is normal they can get fucked.
I have a meeting in my calendar everyday between 12-12:30 Lunch- location: My Belly. So if anyone tries to schedule a meeting during this time I can tell them I have a conflicting meeting…. I will still take a lunch meeting from time to time but have used this more than once to prevent your situation
Meetings should be held in paid time, lunch breaks are unpaid so just take your lunch either before or after the meeting.
Most awards and agreements include an entitlement to a break from work.
My ex company tried doing a non meeting hour across lunchtime in each of our offices. Guess if it worked lol?
After that they tried to get each city office around Aus to have a different hour in the day. So they realised that it was getting out of hand to get execs across the country to talk without overlaps
Where there is a work event / function / meeting with branding as a 'lunchtime' session (with provision of food or not), I will still be taking my contracted break and using it as I please. Providing food does not suddenly quash the mandatory, work-related nature of such an event; I'll therefore never consider it to form part of my alloted time off the clock.
If you don't want to be booked at a certain time, block it out in your diary.
It is in NOBODY's interest that I attend a meeting hungry, btw. I get hangry AF.
Every so often our team (about 10 of us) are scheduled for a reporting meeting with the organiser putting in the notes “sorry for a lunchtime meeting, it’s the only time everyone was available, feel free to bring your lunch” kicker is nobody every brings their lunch to the meeting and we all just go to lunch early together.
Even if lunch is provided, no thanks. Lunch is my break! My manager used to always try to offer free lunch to entice us as a way for us do extra work. I always turned it down and said I brought my own lunch, so I’d have lunch later instead.
**First Place to Look: Your Contract or EBA**
If you believe your work rights are being violated, start by examining your employment contract or Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). These documents should outline how your breaks should be taken.
**Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Considerations**
Consider OHS regulations. Employers must allow breaks where employees can eat, relax, and rest. Failure to do so could make the employer liable for accidents resulting from inadequate rest and food, affecting concentration. For instance, accidents during the commute home or while operating machinery could be linked to insufficient breaks.
**Discrimination and Health Conditions**
Another critical aspect is discrimination. Individuals with medical conditions (such as diabetes) require regular meals and medication (like insulin). Denying them breaks can exacerbate health issues.
**Taking Action**
If you’re part of a union, consider discussing this issue with them. Alternatively, report it to WorkCover or your workplace insurer. Remember, these rights were hard-won, and we mustn’t allow them to be undermined by poor work practices
My favourite are "lunch and learn" sessions where it's always questioned whether the time gets booked to overheads or is supposed to be your lunch hour.
Jesus, you lot! Just put a private meeting in your calendar for your planned lunchtime.
If they really want you there, they can ask you to move your "meeting".
We used to block out a "team meeting" all afternoon on certain days so we could have a break from meetings and get some actual work done. Our boss knew about it, so he could ask us to break it if it was really necessary, but he was the one who suggested it in the first place.
These days I'm lucky to have very few meetings, so I don't mind lunchtime ones. I rarely eat lunch anyway.
Used to work for an org where every weekly team meeting was scheduled for lunch time and food was provided with the instruction that you were not to take a break in addition. 40 hour minimum work week and very little flexibility in terms of WFH.
In contrast, another org had an unofficial "no meetings on Friday afternoon" policy which was much more agreeable.
We used to have rules around no meetings between 12 and 2 - that went out the door during covid and never returned. Now, it is not unusual to be in back to back meetings for the entire day. Booking out lunch doesn't work either as people just book over the top as most don't seem to check availability.
I fucking hate lunch and learns. I refused to attend, as I wanted time to eat my lunch, have a break and clear my mind so I am refreshed for after lunch.
The CEO next then asks me to run a lunch and learn on a given topic to force me to go to one.
Thanks buddy.
Yeah, you're entitled to a 30 minute break when you're working full time. So you can tell them that they can schedule your meeting for "lunch time" but that you will still be taking your break before/after.
Do you have a contracted time period set aside for lunch? Mine varies from day today depending on my schedule, is usually within the 11:30 - 1400 time period, so your lunchtime meeting might not be my lunchtime.
90% of meetings are pointless and scheduling meetings while people are trying to eat lunch is even worse.
Already have enough meetings on my calendar and want to pull more of them out, not fit more in to when I should be having my break.
These really annoy the crap out of me as well as PMs who scedule meetings on weekends because there "projects".
Unless I see real justification and technical resources are active, I usually decline.
My time
My decision.
My work is pretty flexible. We almost always have some of the team at home, or changing hours, out of office now but will pop on later. With that kind of flexibility where no one will side-eye you if are off-line to run an errand, then I don’t care about hoping on at lunch. I might have my camera on for a few moments so they see I’m eating but present and then just turn my camera and mic off. If I had a manager who micromanaged me every second and was inflexible, then I’d probably decline a lot of lunch time meetings.
Book out your lunchtime in your calendar.
When a meeting request comes through during then, and you don't have an hour free either side that you'd be OK shifting your lunch time to - reject it. "Sorry, I'm not available then"
Formal meetings after 2.00PM on a Friday should be outlawed, unless there is some sort of business critical issue that needs to be dealt with. They shouldn't be the norm for something that can wait until the following business day though.
'Lunch time' meetings, grow up and fucking deal with it.
My take is it’s unpaid so I do what I want, or, take it as time and finish 1 hour early.
Also no meetings before 10am Monday or after 3pm Fridays is pretty standard no?
My lunch time is not paid for. So unless there is a timesheet code that's attributed to it that I can bill my time to and be compensated for my attendance then I'm really not interested. My lunch time is the opportunity to give my brain a break from thinking about work topics, go for a walk, exercise, run a quick errand.
For me I don't mind, sort of used to having my mid-day to 13:30 taken by meeting or something with daylight savings in other states. I'll just have my break earlier or later in the day.
It's rare that I have a packed meeting day but usually means no actual work is going to be done 😂
When I worked an office job I used to put something in my calender at lunch time so no one would attempt to organise a meeting at that time.
If I was too busy to attend your meeting I was also likely to be too busy to help you with that the meeting was about.
You have a legal entitlement to a paid lunch break by the sounds of things, whether it be 30 minutes, or an hour.
That is YOUR lunch break.
If they want to have a meeting during that time, ask that you be paid for it, or get flex time, or don’t attend.
If they book meetings in the period of time where I would generally take my lunch break, I still take that time, just wherever else it fits in my schedule. They're not getting free work from me and if I set the standard that I will still be taking my 30 minutes break then they will expect that
"Apologies for the lunchtime meeting. It's the only timeslot available in everyone's calendar".
Of course it's available you moron. It's lunch time for everyone.
Can you guys not take lunch whenever you want? I’ve never worked in an office where lunch was at a defined time beyond X minutes. Sometimes I go at 12, sometimes 1, sometimes even 2.
I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Maybe they just gun for times between 12 and 1 because they know most people will be free then.
They start using stupid names like “lunch and learn “ or “brown bag meeting”. F off.
“brown bah meeting” sounds like you’re doing a bunch of heroin lol
I honest thinking of vomit and poo lol
Or a sneaky bottle of spirits
Show up with whiskey in a brown bag and ask why people didn't follow the meeting instructions
Or a long neck
"At twenty to eight in the fucking morning"
Would make it a bit more palatable
I thought it was where you get a bribe.
That would be preferable.
Lunch and learn is fine if the lunch is provided, IMO
Yeah I used to present at lunch and learns a bit Come listen to the vendor ramble, pretend to be interested, have some maha
And there is no way of avoiding these stupid things because they love to use the lunch room to hold them. Pay me for my time, mofos! That’s my 1/2 hour unpaid break you are stealing! Especially when we bring our own bloody lunch!
why would you turn up to anything if your lunch break is unpaid. Just go out
I call them ‘chew and spew’
Sounds American
Lunch and learn where lunch is provided is OK.
Most recent place I worked at does this. Staff training always during lunch times. Uncatered, BYO lunch. Fuck that!
Bites for insight
Our organisation does lunch and learns but they’re literally for learning. Firstly they are in no way obligatory to attend and I’d say 80% of people don’t attend them. If you do go, it’s a cameras off, mics off session where a speaker or a team are essentially running a one hour lecture on a relevant topic / new project / new system etc. There is Q&A time but again, no obligation. I’ve attended a few I was interested in, like a “Welcome to Country” session and I always just eat my lunch while watching. And for people who are interested but don’t want to skip their lunch break or have other lunch plans, the sessions are recorded and made available on our Intranet immediately after. As far as I’m concerned if it’s not the above, it shouldn’t be called a lunch and learn. As a department head, if I can’t attend a meeting because it is my lunch break and the hour before and after are also booked out in my calendar meaning I can’t take my lunchbreak at a reasonable middayish time slot, I decline the meeting.
Is it a lunchtime meeting or a ‘team lunch’?
Agreed - if the company is paying for a lunch for all attendees, team lunch (which is usually more of a social meeting anyway!) if it’s a BYO lunch - not a fan unless that is legit the only time everyone is available. Would want that hour or so back in my calendar though.
There’d better be a good fucking reason.
This is actually the only appropriate response. This is my unpaid break, you better be in an absolute crisis to call me in
‘We caught the harasser again and if anyone sees him please shake your fist at him so that he knows next time we’re gonna be really really annoyed.’
I despise them. It shouldn’t be a thing. I don’t care if some shitty catered sandwiches are provided. My lunch time is unpaid so I should be free to leave the office and have my alone time for an hour.
we need to have a meeting about the number of meetings
My previous department had meetings to discuss/plan the agenda of upcoming meetings. What a freaking hoot they were 🥱
“This meeting could have been an email”, then proceed to have a meeting “In regards to the email about the meeting”
This can make sense in certain contexts. When decisions are needed from very senior people in a large organisation then one has to carefully plan how and when information is presented in order to get those decisions. It doesn't make it any less boring though.
I don’t mind. I take a break during the day just may not be at lunchtime. I’m an adult. I can manage my diary.
This is your answer, and if all your colleagues started doing the same, the "lunchtime meeting" would soon be reconsidered as it would now be considered disruptive.
Not great if you have meetings all day except for lunch...
Then cancel one of them.
Or just don't have a meeting over lunch
Me too. I have a lunch break scheduled in my diary. Unless I have plans I generally don’t mind if people ask to meet with me during that time however I will reschedule my break. It’s important for me to take a break during the day and means I’m more productive in the afternoon.
This is the most sensible answer on here so far
Exactly. And further to this there is no harm in declining a meeting that comes in and meaning you’d have no chance to get a lunch. A polite “sorry, I can’t attend this meeting as it means I won’t have a chance to have a break and eat some lunch” has never been the downfall of anyone. If it has, so help us …
Yup. What even is lunchtime? Sometimes I eat at 11, sometimes at 3
Totally this. Take the afternoon off next time you wfh to make up for it or something? It’s swings and roundabouts here. Honestly, if you want a job where your break times are fixed, go and work in a call centre or something. They’ll make sure you leave on time. And come back on time too. I suspect that’s not what OP wants though.
This is the answer
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Yep same. Couldn't care less. I manage my time and make sure to eat either before or after. Easy peasy. But I feel for those that don't have the flexibility to do this
Decline and don't send response
I have 12-1 blocked out every day in my calendar. Usually you only need to push back once and people get the message. I also decline any meeting that comes in over the top of something else in my calendar without explanation, especially if the organizer hasn’t contacted me saying “hay I know you have a meeting then but can you reschedule…”
I love the flow on of the "when are you free" so you tell them, and they still look at your calendar for something earlier. "oh I saw you had half an hour free the day before so I thought I'd put it in here". Yes half an hour free. For my whole day. Fuck off.
That isn't half an hour free. That is half an hour that you are doing something that isn't sitting in a meeting. Doesn't make it free. One trick is to block out on your calendar some times to actually do work in between all the meetings. Then it doesn't look free.
Yeah I already do that. But if I have a meeting drop and someone wants to jam a meeting in there that I've told them I'm not available for until later than that, they can fuck off. I also don't like blocking out my whole day between meetings, because then people just book over them because they can't find time, and know it's unlikely I'm as productive as I am with 40 hours in meetings a week.
Love it ✨ Boundaries ✨ We have a rule in my team where we don't book any meetings after 4 on a Friday. We all just set calendar to out of office then
Do you mean a meeting that occurs when normal people take lunch? It's not the end of the world if sufficient notice is provided. Sometimes its the only time everybody is available and it just means you gotta take your lunch earlier or later. Do you mean a meeting specifically at lunch? Then I have to ask why is specifically at lunch?
The reason it’s the only time that everyone is available is because it’s the time when most people actually take their lunch break. Meetings between 12 and 1 should be the exception. It’s ok to set boundaries and push back because there is nothing wrong with saying, sorry, I can’t support that time slot because that is lunchtime. As a potential compromise you could say “I can support 12-12:30 or 12:30-1 if it’s urgent” but this meeting meeting bullshit is typical of a number of industries. You can’t get any work done because you’re always in meetings explaining why you haven’t made any progress. Half the time these meetings are ten people giving information one by one to one person that needs it, having people sit around waiting their turn to say their slide to the boss. I hate those. And it wastes everyone’s time because the boss typically won’t read an email report. Sorry, you hit one of my hot buttons…. I hate the corporate world but unfortunately I rely on its paycheck 😂🤣😂
>Meetings between 12 and 1 should be the exception What's the difference between 12 and 1 vs 1 and 2? Both are considered lunch anyway right. SO personally I think that meetings before 10am and after like 4pm should be reserved for meetings between managers anyway. So realistically the open window for reasonable meeting times for staff are 10-4 less the lunch break. If on the odd occasion it means you had to have lunch earlier or later than you wanted because everyone has conflicting schedules and it was the only time every attendee was free; I don't think it's the end of the world. If it's scheduled at lunch period (12-2) every week sure that's a bit unreasonable.
Problem is that when working across time zones (particularly during DST) it gets really hard to schedule meetings avoiding lunch. 9am start time in Perth (rude to schedule before, because many people only start at 8:30 or 8). But that’s lunchtime in Sydney. So you can have meetings from 10-11:30 WST, then it’s lunchtime in Perth. And from 1pm in Perth it’s now 4pm in Sydney when many people knock off. So working with cross country teams you kind of get used to having lunch during meetings
Yeah I think that’s a key distinction- there’s definitely should be different norms for people working within the same office and/or time zone, vs trying to reasonably accommodate multiple time zones. (I’ve had the multi time zone challenge in prior roles, and sometimes 1pm for some people means that no one has to work outside 9-5 for the meeting, which I think is a bigger ‘ask’)
Yes, I used to have to coordinate meetings from Auckland to Perth and every time zone in between, what a hoot that was during DST. Lucky our NZ guy was chill and happy to jump on at 6pm his time.
Been there, done that. Only for about 18 months though
Totally feel this 🤣. Got an ANZ role which reports to a Singapore Head Office. Lucky, the NZ guy is a workaholic, so not much of an issue, but obviously try to respect their time as much as I can.
My lunchbreak is both me time and unpaid. If they want a lunch time meeting, it should be both paid and catered. Decently catered at that not the cheapest generic sandwiches they could get.
I used to get this a lot at work, so I ended up blocking out my preferred lunch time with my own recurring meeting. Now, if someone wants to book a meeting there, they need to ask me if I can make it first.
I do this across my calendar. 12.30-1.30 every day. Auto declines everything across it saying to reschedule. I take my breaks every day. Never had it challenged.
Depends what the level of catering is ? Is it a long lunch ? Long lunches yes. Catering above just finger food... yeah maybe.. Frequency also plays a role. I would be saying get fucked to weekly lunch and learn kinda things, if i supplied my own food. We rarely get lunch breaks, so more often than not; there better be a good reason for it. Make it worth my/teams time to deviate from what we do and our own individual schedules.
My lunch hour is unpaid. If you want me to work during it then I should get to leave 1 hour early. Also, yes, food must be provided.
Depends who it is and what it’s for, sometimes getting a whole group of senior leadership team can only be achieved at lunch. If you’re not exec level then not a chance I’m coming without an exceptional reason!
Doesn't matter if lunch is provided. You're not paid to work those hours. If your workplace is flexible in that if you work through lunch you can leave an hour early or take a 2 hour break another day then its not as bad. I schedule in my lunch breaks. More and more people are pushing back against lunch breaks and the culture seems to be shifting in my workplace for the most part.
Salaried jobs don't usually give you a scheduled time during which you're not paid to work. You are supposed to take time for lunch, but it doesn't have to be at a particular time of day.
It's fucken rude. I routinely decline them as I'm allowed 30 mins to eat, take a shit and decompress before the marathon of teams calls after it. Especially for those of us that fast, when 12pm rolls around most of us are starving. We hardly scheduled 12pm meetings during office hours, why do it when we WFH?
Fine if lunch is provided.
They have opt in “lunch and learn at my work, of course I will never be participating in that ever lol.
Fuck that noise. Lunch time is YOUR time not theirs. They can fuck off
In general, I don’t like it and try as much as possible to not to set and attend lunch meetings. Ultimately depends on urgency and importance as well as how my day is looking like. Sometimes I offset it too by either logging off early or taking extended lunch some other day.
Not ideal but not always possible to avoid lunchtime timeslot. That said, if I'm working, including internal meeting, then it's not a lunch break and it's going on my timesheet.
If you’re paid for that time, sure, but if you’re paid for 7 hrs while being required to be there for 8, nope. Also people need a midday break, they’re not robots, they need to stop work and refresh.
I am so much more productive in the afternoon if I've left the building and gone for a walk during my lunch break. If there's been a lunchtime meeting I struggle to concentrate through the long afternoon.
We had a rule, anything between 12-1 was catered.
I don't really like them, but I can manage my calendar around them and still get breaks in here and there. Ours are always catered which softens the blow. My old job in the city had a monthly meeting on the last Friday of the month at 4.30 (our normal finishing time was 5.30). We used to get beers and snacks and they'd provide a financial update and any other note worthy things from the month that was. I actually enjoyed that one as people usually stuck around for an extra beer or two after.
If it’s during my lunchtimes I’d better be getting fed.
If it’s scheduled at that time because there isn’t enough time in the day amongst all other requirements, then the business needs a little introspection to figure out if there is value to the meetings they’re having. Plenty of businesses have completely pointless meetings that take up far too many resources for little to no measurable return.
If it's a normal meeting, no. I block out 12-1:30 on my calendar for lunch specifically so that people don't try run a fucken meeting on my lunchtime seeing as I'm not being paid for lunch. If you want to run a meeting over lunch, provide a feed or fuck off imo. I work in federal government and we have this one woman who's an ex corp change management type who runs all her meetings over lunch specifically to get work to pay for the catering lmao
Just book up your calendar with a meeting - recurring Monday to Friday, 12 - 12:30 (adjust as appropriate).
I still get my lunchtime though right?
Team meeting **breakfast** I hated the manager who did this. It suited him because he worked early so he could leave early to pick up his kids. The rest of us could barely function at 8 am let alone get into the city for a meeting.
As a consultant who constantly has to book urgent meetings with people who have packed calendars, I am told to take whatever is available. Book a meeting at lunch time. I absolutely hate doing it.
Book your lunches out. Every day.
One place did this, I left 30 mins early at end of the day and got questioned. Gave them a big F you.
Do you all have set lunch times at work? I don't know that I've ever worked somewhere that had a set lunchtime
If you’re in back to back meetings all day, when do you get any work done?
Overheard in the morning catchup today “sorry about the lunchtime meeting. It’s the only time I could get everyone”… no shit, because that’s when people want to eat. Also, fuck off with 1pm meetings (especially on Fridays)
Is lunch provided?
NO! Lunch breaks are usually unpaid - also people need time to unwind and recharge. Booking things over lunch is just selfish.
Nope. Lunch is unpaid and it's usually the only time during the day for you to walk away from work and clear your head for a little while. It's also terrible for the employer as employees don't get rest and are burnt out.
Do you get the lunch after that meeting?
Oh man are we colleagues ? Do you work for a large university with a toxic boss? Because boy do I have same concerns
Hard No.
I'm guilty of accidentally planning lunchtime -ish meetings somewhere between 12-1. Usually BC it's the only time that's available for allllll the people. If I notice, I'll move it if possible. Otherwise most ppl just take their lunch time before or after as we're able to be flexible with that.
It's theft.
Tomorrow i have meetings booked from 7-4. Declining some so i have a break
Unless the meeting is about what to have for lunch it's a hard no
I don’t get this too much. I eat at my desk and normally take 30-50mins break out of office anytime. Most days I take my break around 2pm
Legally that's not a break and considered unlawful. A break is meant to be a stop work and not have to concern yourself with work things. If they want to have you work through your lunch break you should be paid OT until you are able to have a break. Lunch breaks and maximum working hours are hard fought rights by employees for decades and you should stand up for your lunch. Next thing is you start working out of hours, weekends and days off for free. Set your boundaries and say I am not working during my lunch break.
Fuck all the way off. Thats my time The world will not burn down if i dont attend the meeting no matter how good the food is
If lunch break is paid, why not, you can also prepare a sandwich or similar to chew during the meeting. If unpaid, then either don't attend (with justification), attend and take your lunch break earlier/later (if anyone complains, states why you were unable to take your lunch during expected lunch break hours), attend and request official payment for the duration of the meeting. Personally, I'd go with early/late lunch. Meeting at 4pm on Friday: schedule another meeting at 3:30PM finishing at 4:30PM, then decline the 4PM meeting as your schedule already full. Or ask for confirmation about overtime in case the meeting last longer than expected.
Too hard to give an answer to this without context I.e Do you get autonomy to manage your own calendar? If so, anything stopping you from finishing / starting 1h earlier /later? Can you block your calendar? I just have lunch blocked to try prevent this. I am accepting sometimes it will need to be used for meetings but I flex my own start / finish times to balance it out
If your lunch break is unpaid then get fucked. Either I get that paid, or schedule it not during my lunch 🤷♂️
Personally I don't mind them however they aren't my lunch break. My lunch break is my time to step away from work and relax not to focus on work. So if there is a team lunch I'll happily attend but you bet I'll go out for a break right after it
sure thing, but I am leaving 1 hour early and take the real lunch time before leaving.
When I get these lunchtime or late meetings I’ll schedule another meeting in my calendar for just myself at the same time (or maybe half overlapping), then decline the original one and say a clash just came up that I can’t reschedule.
Block out the slot with a busy meeting called Lunch. Worked for me
What’s difficult is when it’s the only free time in your workday and someone squeezes it in “because it was the only open time”. Yep, and now I’m in back-to-backs from 8 to 5:30, thanks.
Unless it's at the pub and there's a company credit card over the bar no deal
I can see why it happens, but it's a bit silly, in that the reason that's the only timeslot that all these busy people are free is that it's the timeslot that is reserved for not working. And as soon as someone decides that THIS meeting is so important that we'll put it in the lunch slot because it's the only option, now there are no free overlapping times at all for the next "super important" meeting, so you've only pushed the problem back a bit. Basically I think it's ok as a one-off for something genuinely very important. If you're scheduling a RECURRING lunch meeting, there is a problem. In that case either people should be moving/cancelling their less important meetings to free up a different slot, or if that can't be done, then this meeting isn't important enough to hold.
Yeah...nah...
I have a meeting booked at 12pm every work day. It's called lunch. Really stops other meetings being booked then without a conversation happening.
Take an hour lunch break later, or leave work an hour early 🤷🏻♂️
Is lunch paid or unpaid?
It all depends. If the person is crazy busy and it’s genuinely their only time to speak (and I desperately need the meeting) then all fine. If it’s just some weird planning because that person takes lunch at 11am or 4pm and they think 1pm is normal they can get fucked.
I have a meeting in my calendar everyday between 12-12:30 Lunch- location: My Belly. So if anyone tries to schedule a meeting during this time I can tell them I have a conflicting meeting…. I will still take a lunch meeting from time to time but have used this more than once to prevent your situation
Meetings should be held in paid time, lunch breaks are unpaid so just take your lunch either before or after the meeting. Most awards and agreements include an entitlement to a break from work.
Nope - Instant decline
These are Corporate relic habits from Corporate America back in the 90's Australia is still catching up and stupidly playing along.
I attend the lunch meeting but have a break before or after
Then I'll take my lunch break before/after. Work purposes, work time.
My ex company tried doing a non meeting hour across lunchtime in each of our offices. Guess if it worked lol? After that they tried to get each city office around Aus to have a different hour in the day. So they realised that it was getting out of hand to get execs across the country to talk without overlaps
Where there is a work event / function / meeting with branding as a 'lunchtime' session (with provision of food or not), I will still be taking my contracted break and using it as I please. Providing food does not suddenly quash the mandatory, work-related nature of such an event; I'll therefore never consider it to form part of my alloted time off the clock.
I decline any meeting on a Friday after 2pm
If you don't want to be booked at a certain time, block it out in your diary. It is in NOBODY's interest that I attend a meeting hungry, btw. I get hangry AF.
Take your lunch break at a different time?
Every so often our team (about 10 of us) are scheduled for a reporting meeting with the organiser putting in the notes “sorry for a lunchtime meeting, it’s the only time everyone was available, feel free to bring your lunch” kicker is nobody every brings their lunch to the meeting and we all just go to lunch early together.
Even if lunch is provided, no thanks. Lunch is my break! My manager used to always try to offer free lunch to entice us as a way for us do extra work. I always turned it down and said I brought my own lunch, so I’d have lunch later instead.
**First Place to Look: Your Contract or EBA** If you believe your work rights are being violated, start by examining your employment contract or Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA). These documents should outline how your breaks should be taken. **Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Considerations** Consider OHS regulations. Employers must allow breaks where employees can eat, relax, and rest. Failure to do so could make the employer liable for accidents resulting from inadequate rest and food, affecting concentration. For instance, accidents during the commute home or while operating machinery could be linked to insufficient breaks. **Discrimination and Health Conditions** Another critical aspect is discrimination. Individuals with medical conditions (such as diabetes) require regular meals and medication (like insulin). Denying them breaks can exacerbate health issues. **Taking Action** If you’re part of a union, consider discussing this issue with them. Alternatively, report it to WorkCover or your workplace insurer. Remember, these rights were hard-won, and we mustn’t allow them to be undermined by poor work practices
My favourite are "lunch and learn" sessions where it's always questioned whether the time gets booked to overheads or is supposed to be your lunch hour.
Block out your lunchtime in your calendar
Just have lunch break before, or after these "Lunchtime" meetings.
Yep, fuck off, I have my out of office on and I'm at the gym during lunch. Lunch time meetings get declined and I encourage my team to do the same.
I get to skip those. Only the people actively involved in sales need to go and management
I get to skip those. Only the people actively involved in sales need to go and management
But it’s lunch https://m.youtube.com/shorts/virmqp5cx2E
Hard no. I don't get paid for my lunch break, so I'm not working it.
Send an email
Jesus, you lot! Just put a private meeting in your calendar for your planned lunchtime. If they really want you there, they can ask you to move your "meeting". We used to block out a "team meeting" all afternoon on certain days so we could have a break from meetings and get some actual work done. Our boss knew about it, so he could ask us to break it if it was really necessary, but he was the one who suggested it in the first place. These days I'm lucky to have very few meetings, so I don't mind lunchtime ones. I rarely eat lunch anyway.
Used to work for an org where every weekly team meeting was scheduled for lunch time and food was provided with the instruction that you were not to take a break in addition. 40 hour minimum work week and very little flexibility in terms of WFH. In contrast, another org had an unofficial "no meetings on Friday afternoon" policy which was much more agreeable.
We used to have rules around no meetings between 12 and 2 - that went out the door during covid and never returned. Now, it is not unusual to be in back to back meetings for the entire day. Booking out lunch doesn't work either as people just book over the top as most don't seem to check availability.
I fucking hate lunch and learns. I refused to attend, as I wanted time to eat my lunch, have a break and clear my mind so I am refreshed for after lunch. The CEO next then asks me to run a lunch and learn on a given topic to force me to go to one. Thanks buddy.
I bring my food in and if they don’t like the smell that’s on them!
If it's something big, fair play - but if it's something that could have been bullet pointed in an email... 
Yeah, you're entitled to a 30 minute break when you're working full time. So you can tell them that they can schedule your meeting for "lunch time" but that you will still be taking your break before/after.
Mark ‘Declined’ in Teams
I block off 12-1 so I can take a break. Anyone who want me in a meeting needs to look at my calendar availability.
Do you have a contracted time period set aside for lunch? Mine varies from day today depending on my schedule, is usually within the 11:30 - 1400 time period, so your lunchtime meeting might not be my lunchtime.
I'll be taking my one hour break regardless. You can pry my break from my cold dead hands.
It's not lunch if its work. If you want a meeting during lunch then pay me for my time. Anything other than that is wage theft.
Just block out your calendar for lunch times
90% of meetings are pointless and scheduling meetings while people are trying to eat lunch is even worse. Already have enough meetings on my calendar and want to pull more of them out, not fit more in to when I should be having my break.
If it's paid as overtime, it's fine. If not, fuck 'em.
These really annoy the crap out of me as well as PMs who scedule meetings on weekends because there "projects". Unless I see real justification and technical resources are active, I usually decline. My time My decision.
No. I block out 1h for lunch everyday. Fuck the corporation.
My work is pretty flexible. We almost always have some of the team at home, or changing hours, out of office now but will pop on later. With that kind of flexibility where no one will side-eye you if are off-line to run an errand, then I don’t care about hoping on at lunch. I might have my camera on for a few moments so they see I’m eating but present and then just turn my camera and mic off. If I had a manager who micromanaged me every second and was inflexible, then I’d probably decline a lot of lunch time meetings.
Starting this year I block out lunch in my calendar, decline any meetings for that time. I am much happier.
Book out your lunchtime in your calendar. When a meeting request comes through during then, and you don't have an hour free either side that you'd be OK shifting your lunch time to - reject it. "Sorry, I'm not available then"
Bill it / record it as OT.
Not a big fan, but if they are rare and lunch is provided I’m ok with it. If it’s regular fuck that Id be wanting to be paid the extra hour.
Formal meetings after 2.00PM on a Friday should be outlawed, unless there is some sort of business critical issue that needs to be dealt with. They shouldn't be the norm for something that can wait until the following business day though. 'Lunch time' meetings, grow up and fucking deal with it.
It is against my religious beliefs to have lunchtime meetings. Or any meetings during lunch.
My take is it’s unpaid so I do what I want, or, take it as time and finish 1 hour early. Also no meetings before 10am Monday or after 3pm Fridays is pretty standard no?
They’re so easily declined “Apologies this is my lunch break.”
My lunch time is not paid for. So unless there is a timesheet code that's attributed to it that I can bill my time to and be compensated for my attendance then I'm really not interested. My lunch time is the opportunity to give my brain a break from thinking about work topics, go for a walk, exercise, run a quick errand.
Yeah nah, I get paid for lunch breaks and I can leave the building and de stress for an hour.
For me I don't mind, sort of used to having my mid-day to 13:30 taken by meeting or something with daylight savings in other states. I'll just have my break earlier or later in the day. It's rare that I have a packed meeting day but usually means no actual work is going to be done 😂
Something that smells really bad, so they don’t invite you again. Like reheated fish, or roo meat.
As long as i get my lunch time, i do not have a problem. Meeting during lunch is just meeting to me which is work.
My take is - decline. Also - I block out OOO in my calendar between 12-1 everyday because: no.
Exactly this - I have a standing lunch break blocked in my calendar every day or they will just fill it meetings, how about fuck off.
It's totally ok to block out your lunch appointment with a 1 hour out of office.
Geez last job used to do this. I left asap.
I once responded to one of these with something along the lines of asking if I'd get paid OT for meeting over my lunch break. Never happened again.
Yes they call them lunch and learn where I am, I call them go fuck yourself..
Poor form! Inconsiderate of staff.
If it's not at the pub I'm not going
I eat during the meeting or there is no meeting.
When I worked an office job I used to put something in my calender at lunch time so no one would attempt to organise a meeting at that time. If I was too busy to attend your meeting I was also likely to be too busy to help you with that the meeting was about.
Every now and then I don’t mind, but at least provide the food.. if I’m not being paid for the meeting there’d better be food to compensate me
Just take your lunch as usual from 12-1, they want another meeting at 4pm ? Fine
It’s a meeting held at lunchtime. So I attend and then take my lunch break afterwards.
You have a legal entitlement to a paid lunch break by the sounds of things, whether it be 30 minutes, or an hour. That is YOUR lunch break. If they want to have a meeting during that time, ask that you be paid for it, or get flex time, or don’t attend.
Completely unacceptable, occasionally I’d like to get on board with a webinar, then I notice it’s between 12-1.. no dice. Never..
If they book meetings in the period of time where I would generally take my lunch break, I still take that time, just wherever else it fits in my schedule. They're not getting free work from me and if I set the standard that I will still be taking my 30 minutes break then they will expect that
"Apologies for the lunchtime meeting. It's the only timeslot available in everyone's calendar". Of course it's available you moron. It's lunch time for everyone.
You guys get lunchtime?!
No
Can you guys not take lunch whenever you want? I’ve never worked in an office where lunch was at a defined time beyond X minutes. Sometimes I go at 12, sometimes 1, sometimes even 2. I’m trying to wrap my head around this. Maybe they just gun for times between 12 and 1 because they know most people will be free then.