Boss Emails To Say He Was ‘Annoyed & Embarrassed’ That His Staff Was Out Eating Lunch During Their Lunch Breaks
He claimed that he needs to know where his staff is during working hours, despite their right to have a lunch break.
fizkes / Shutterstock A boss is being criticized for being unreasonable over an email that he sent out to all of his staff regarding their lunch break. In a TikTok video, a content creator named Ben Askins read out an anonymous submission he received from an employee who shared an email they'd received from their boss about how the staff were taking their lunch breaks.
The boss admitted to being 'annoyed and embarrassed' that his staff was out eating lunch on their lunch break.
"Our boss emailed to say that he was annoyed we were eating lunch during lunchtime," Askins read from the blind submission he received from an unnamed employee. In the email sent by this person's boss, he claimed that his staff is entitled to their lunch break, but the issue for him was that the next time the CEO of the company came into the building, he wanted staff to eat lunch at their desks.
"Mark came down at 12:15 to meet the team and it was really embarrassing having to explain you're out for lunch," the boss reportedly told his staff. Askins pointed out that it shouldn't have been embarrassing to explain that the staff were just out to lunch, a common occurrence that happens in every single workplace.
He accused this person's boss of being "insecure," and the boss explained that while the CEO of the company didn't say anything about the team being out for lunch, he would prefer that this not happen again in the future. He urged his staff to "show a little more dedication" toward their coworkers and the company as a whole.
"I expect to know where my team is during working hours," the boss concluded, making sure to sign off the email with a smiley face and a promise that his staff have a "great weekend." After reading out the absurd email, Askins insisted that there is nothing wrong with employees taking a much-deserved lunch break when they are supposed to.
"The big issue I have with this just shows a crippling insecurity. That's not the worst trait in the manager but it does become a really toxic one," Askins said. "It does become a really toxic one when they use insecurity to push downward."
He explained that this boss' biggest issue is that he wants to look good for his team and thinks the only way to do that is by punishing his staff and making them stay at their desks during lunch when they should be allowed to leave and go elsewhere. Instead, this boss should be more interested in the quality of work that his staff is doing and how hardworking they are, as those are more important aspects.
It's been proven that employees taking their lunch break can improve their overall work productivity.
In a survey by ezCater, a company that provides corporate food solutions, 1,000 workers nationwide, including a mix of in-person, hybrid, and remote employees, were polled to better understand their work-life habits and how taking lunch impacts overall job performance. The survey found that one in 10 employees never takes a break away from their desks and 70% eat while they work at least once a week.
However, proper lunch breaks improve job performance and can prevent burnout. According to the survey, the percentage of employees that agree taking a lunch break away from their desk improves job performance was highest amongst hybrid and remote workers at 81%, but in the office wasn’t far behind with 77%.
"[Lunch breaks] help cleanse your mind," ezCater’s chief demand officer, Diane Swint, told CNBC. "Whether you’re working at home, or you’re working on a factory line, you need to take a break and check your energy."
"I think there’s a false sense that if you work straight through, you’ll be more productive," he continued. "There needs to be a reframing of a holistic approach to how you are being creative and innovative in the work that you are doing. And I think sometimes that means you need to go slower to go faster."
Instead of this boss trying to instill a strict deskbound lunch break policy to look good in front of the company's CEO, he should realize that there's nothing wrong with his staff choosing to take a well-deserved break and step away from their desks to enjoy their lunch.
Nia Tipton is a Chicago-based entertainment, news, and lifestyle writer whose work delves into modern-day issues and experiences.