Aremote worker has been cheered online for sharing how they spend their working day, including long breaks in the middle of a shift.
The worker, who did not share any personal details but who posts to Reddit under the username u/Suspiciouscricket654, took to the r/Confession sub on April 11 and confessed: “I take a very long lunch break in the middle of my workday.”
They explained they work 40-hour weeks, fully remotely at a “very large Fortune 50 company.”
And for the past three years, they have taken a lunch break of between one and a half to two hours, blocking their calendar so nobody attempts to contact them during that time.
Their boss has never questioned or “been suspicious” of their long midday breaks, with the worker suggesting “he might do the same thing himself on his remote days, although he has a hybrid schedule.”
And that’s not all, they wrote: “I have taken vacations before during lighter project weeks, where a lot of communication isn’t required between me and my team. I took my laptop and logged on during mandatory meetings and then logged off right afterwards.”
They acknowledged that some companies are attempting a push for mandatory return to office “because of stuff like this,” but argued: “I always hit my goals, I do everything that’s asked of me, and I exceed expectations every year during my performance review.”
“Honestly, this is the first time in my career where I feel like I have a ‘normal’ work/life balance. I feel like this is what work really should be. 30-32 hours of core work, while enjoying life the way it should be enjoyed.
“Some of the happiest moments of my life have been playing with my toddler son and watching him grow up during my lunch hour.”
And they finished their confession by declaring: “Sorry, not sorry.”
Reddit users responded in a big way to the post, awarding it more than 21,000 upvotes and close to 1,000 comments, the first one being: “Can you get me a job?”
One commenter assured them: “As long as you do the job very well—not sure what the concern is. We work to live, do not live to work. Enjoy life & worry less.”
Another urged the worker: “Don’t feel bad for one moment. Anyone who is mad about that needs to look at life from a higher perspective. This is it—this is the one life we have. A 90 minute lunch to help with your mental health/morale is not cheating.”
Another Reddit user, who does not work remotely, claimed they only put in up to two hours work a day in the office. They said in a comment: “Now that companies are axing massive proportions of employees with no warning, no reason, and usually no severance, it’s fair to beat them at their own game.”
Replying to that, another shared: “My friend got a 1% raise this year despite record profits and she exceeded all her goals. No one should feel bad about this.”
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, severance pay is usually granted to employees after the termination of their employment. However, there is no legal mandate for severance pay in the Fair Labor Standards Act, and it is up to each individual company.
Many U.S. employees are defined as “at-will employment,” where they are not under a contract, and can be fired at any time for almost any reason without incurring legal liability, according to Thomson Reuters. However, they cannot be fired for discriminatory reasons, including for their age, sex or race.
Source – https://www.newsweek.com/remote-worker-admission-what-do-cheered-not-sorry-2061047