Work-life balance isn't something to laugh at. In fact, employees tend to work more diligently and stay at workplaces longer when they feel respected and cared for by their work community.
But according to one Redditor on the "Interesting" subReddit, some workplaces don't look at it that way.
Redditor Positive_Actuary_282 created quite a stir when they posted a photograph of a sign that had been posted by their management team.
Whether employees taking long lunches or consistently being tardy when clocking in are issues at the office is unclear, but it seems to be enough of an issue that they felt the need to implement some tough consequences around lunchtime.
The flyer reads:
"For every minute your lunch break exceeds 30 minutes, you will owe the company 60 minutes of unpaid 'focus time' after 6:00 PM."
"For example, a 31-minute lunch means you leave [the] office at 7:00 PM."
"Eat faster."
You can see a copy of it here:
u/Positive_Actuary_282/Reddit
Some Redditors cried foul over the extremes the company's management was going to.
"This is illegal as f**k in most states (assuming you're in the US). Take photos and send to the labor board." - Kevaldes
"We've all known that one person who freaks the f**k out if their paycheck is even a few dollars short."
"I love this person. This type of person protects us from ever backsliding into stuff such as this. I will protect this person." - CruelRegulator
"I feel for the OP. When I was 16, my first job was at Burger King. They told me I needed to come in an hour before my shift for a mandatory unpaid meeting."
"I thought to myself: that doesn’t seem legal. I took a look at the Department of Labor poster on the wall, gave them a call, and within the week, we no longer had unpaid meetings. That was the beginning of my pro-labor advocacy, and I haven’t stopped since." - baskaat
"We got a new employee, and he quickly told us, as first responders, we can’t be forced to clock out for breaks. Another employee he told this, filed a class action suit, and now we no longer have to clock out. Awesome, now I’m wondering if I can force them to backpay me, but I doubt it. This employee might want to look into their rights." - Krondelo
"It's a pretty standard legal norm that someone can't profit from illegal acts, so their keeping the money they were supposed to pay you in the first place won't fly. Lawyer up with your coworkers, sending a stern legal letter shouldn't cost much." - Humble_Ostrich_4610
Others mused over how they could manipulate the system.
"Nice, soooo, leave the lunch break one minute earlier, and then work one hour less. Good Deal." - Material_Platypus620
"Nah... you let them send you more ammunition for your constructive dismissal claim and don’t bother with the letter of resignation. May as well collect unemployment in this job market." - NahautlExile
"Take five minutes extra, and stay for five hours every day. Sue for unpaid overtime." - S1ayer
"Can I leave one hour earlier when I only use 29 minutes of my break? Two hours for 28 minutes? How long before I can skip work for the day? At 22 minutes?" - Bulky-Importance-533
"You know they are out on a business meeting at the expensive coffee shop. Since it's a business meeting, that overpriced coffee and sandwich are on company expense, as well as the time they spend there counts as their working hours. But you know, fair's fair, apparently." - derangedsweetheart
This sign seems like a response to what is probably a slight overuse of lunch break time by employees, which is an understandable concern, but the funny thing is that, when companies implement tough consequences like this, they're more likely to lose employees than to gain loyalty and discipline.
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