Lunch at work

I bring in 4 or 5 pieces of fruit, have a box of Barry's tea bags in the desk, (Cause I don't like the brown liquid from the machine) and depending on the mood, I might bring a sandwhich or something else. If I know I am staying late then I'll nip out and get something. I can think of better things to be doing with a thousand euro a year then giving it to the local petrol station
 
I can't believe the communist paradise some of you public sector workers get to live in not only having lunch breaks but being able to discuss the contents of your lunch.

My super efficient private sector company gives us 1 minute for lunch to eat our ration of Soylent Green. If you go over the minute, you're sacked. Eat too loudly, you're sacked. Ask for a Kit Kat, you're sacked. Drop a crumb, you're sacked. You get bonuses for finishing your portion in under a minute and for whistleblowing on any fellow employee who contravenes the lunch policy.

That's how you run an efficient operation.
 
lou2 said:
Easily. Sandwich, cold drink, bag of crisps and a coffee (and maybe a kitkat!). Thing of the past now though.
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Bag of crisps AND a kit-kat

No wonder the Health Service is overrun
 
lou2 said:
Easily. Sandwich, cold drink, bag of crisps and a coffee (and maybe a kitkat!). Thing of the past now though.
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Ah ya see youre getting more than the fundamentals there! Do ye not have free tea/coffee in the office? Cold drinks are wild expensive if you get 'em every day, especailly any of that fancy crap they sell in delis e.g. "This Water". If you buy a 20pack of crisps/bars instead of buying individually you'd save a fortune as well.
 
We provide free tea and coffee all day (and night).
I think it comes across as really mean not to do so.
 
lou2 said:
I go out to a deli at lunchtime but this has to stop as I can't afford a tenner a day for lunch..
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Can you define 'lunch' ?

A sandwich should give you change out of a fiver. Anything beyond that is not lunch, just giving in to temptation .. IMHO .

We've a subsidised canteen so I can get a sandwich, or soup and some salads, for less than €4.00 per day. Tea and coffee are free and I take in an apple from home for the mid afternoon munchies - or a fruit and nut mix from LIDL.
 
When did lunch become the norm anyway, I always used to have my dinner at 1PM, evening tea at 6.30PM, then I moved to Dublin
 
I go home for lunch everyday, its great. I used to pick up a nice cappucino then in the coffee place near us but when i filed out a budget spreadsheet, that wasnt long being hit on the head.

I think we are getting a nespresso machine for the office though, now that will be an exciting day
 
I bring lunch the vast majority of the time too and our office provides as much tea, coffee and water as we can drink. I brought my lunch with me even before the recession hit as I always thought €25 a week for bought sandwich when my own is just as good was better spent on a city break!
 
Similarly whats people's habits on breakfast? Most people in our office come in at 9 and eat their breakfast at desk till 9.30, effectively getting paid for it. Is this common or are we just having it too good?
 
I eat my breakfast in work early in the morning. bowl of porridge watching the news on the tele in the canteen. ease myself into the working day that way, i have lunch at the desk though usually as i work through lunch (mon - thurs).
 
Purple said:
We provide free tea and coffee all day (and night).
I think it comes across as really mean not to do so.
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In the public service providing free tea and coffee means less money for the services.

We buy our own tea and coffee. We use to get free milk and water but both of these were this year.

In our region the cancellation of the water contract is expected to achieve €800K of savings and a few jobs in the private sector.
 
I usually get in to work 10 minutes either side of 8 in the morning and I’m usually last in; most start between 7.00 and 7.30.
Nobody eats breakfast at their desk but the canteen serves hot and cold breakfast at the 10.00 break (15 minutes, paid).

Lunch is between 1.00 and 1.30 or 1.30 and 2.00 for the factory floor (unpaid) or 1.00 and 2.00 (unpaid) for the office.
The guys on the factory floor get a further break at 4.30 for 15 minutes (paid) if they are working past 6.00.
The people in the office don’t get an afternoon break. Some finish early at 5.00 but most of us are here ‘till between 6.00 and 7.30, 2-3 evenings a week.

There is no canteen for the night shift but they get a 50% shift allowance so they can afford to buy a sandwich.
 
We were also forbidden to order tea, coffee or biscuits for meetings about a year ago. It was terribly embarassing when people had travelled long distances or come from abroad and staff ended up buying coffee, scones etc out of their own money for delegates. So the rule is changed and, if people from outside the Department are attending, coffee and tea is allowed, but Department staff only, nothing! Even if the meeting is at nine o clock in the morning.
 

We have a unit that filters and cools water from the mains. It is much cheaper than the big bottle water cooler.

In the private sector we realise that wages are the biggest cost and tea bags and water are tiny costs. For the last ten years our wage levels have not kept pace with the public or construction sectors. We have not paid any of the increases from the national wage agreements etc but then again we are still profitable and have not made anyone redundant (in fact we are looking for people at the moment).
 
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