How to Avoid Ruining Your Lunch Break

2

The best part of the day, aside from when you get to leave to go home, is when you get to leave to go to lunch. Bosses often try to ruin this by scheduling lunch meetings, or as they call it “a working lunch.” A working lunch means that instead of scarfing Chipotle, you’re choking down something from a place called Apple Spice Junction and surrounded by pit stains.

Corporate Lunchroom

The corporate lunchroom is not the ideal lunch spot.

Bosses don’t mind working through lunch because a) they are able to survive on a diet of cocaine and energy drinks, and b) they have no life. Never do you run into your boss at Starbucks reading a book or updating his Facebook status. If bosses had Facebook statuses they would say, “Having a working lunch.”

For the rest of us, that one hour plus round trip drive time allows us to clear our minds of corporate bile and do a little something for ourselves. If there’s a restaurant located immediately outside your office, don’t go there unless you want to commit relaxation suicide.

Nothing sours a lunch faster than spotting a co-worker at another table. If they’re sitting with somebody else, you may stand a chance. But what if they’re just chewing and staring straight ahead? Depending on how much food they have left on their plate and whether or not they hold a management position in the company, it is probably worth it to just chuck your lunch and buy a new one somewhere else.

Blend in as best you can.

The second part of lunch begins when you return to the office parking lot.

If a favorite song comes on the radio, sit and listen to it for as long as possible. If a song that is sort of okay comes on the radio, sit and listen to it for as long as possible. Check your Twitter app. Floss. This is called “multi-tasking” and is valued by employers.

And, depending on the layout of your building, multi-tasking involves parking far enough away to avoid being seen by those inside having a working lunch.

Secretary4Life

Written by Secretary4Life

Secretary4Life is an administrative assistant by day, and bored, frustrated, aspiring writer also by day. By night she complains about going back to work in the morning.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Related Posts


Comments

2 Responses to “How to Avoid Ruining Your Lunch Break”
  1. Sheila Wolfson says:

    Almost choked on my working lunch laughing so much!

  2. Hysterical. I love the concept of “relaxation suicide”. Also, I know exactly what you mean about the terrible realization that you are about to be joined by a co-worker for lunch when all you wanted to do was read.

Speak Your Mind

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!