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My company does this thing where all of the people in IT go out to get food together in sync, and then bring it back and eat in the conference room like it's a

My company does this thing where all of the people in IT go out to get food together in sync, and then bring it back and eat in the conference room like it's a cafeteria and like they're back in school. I'm the only person who leaves the office during my lunch hour, alone. I get funny looks, and my coworkers sometimes ask me "where have you been?" It's a weird company culture and I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to put up with it.

Lord_Zero 9y ago
Wat. What kind of an adult doesn't have stuff to do on lunch? I usually do some of these: work out, get my dry cleaning, run home to grab packages, make lunch, take a nap, shower real quick after a work out, go to the dentist, etc. If I was purely locked in to 45 hours a week with my coworkers id be job hunting.
- maaaats 9y ago
  What about adults having shorter hours? Standard work-week in my country is 37.5 hours. If I were so cramped on time that I had to stress to get shit done in the middle of my job-day I'd be job hunting.
  - Lord_Zero 9y ago
    Good luck job hunting for a job like that in the US. Here standard vacation is 1-2 weeks per year and getting your 8 hours in between 8am and 5pm is also the norm. Sadly we don't have the luxury of having such flexible hours and large vacation packages as is standard in foreign countries.
- drdeadringer 9y ago
  I am a kind of an adult who doesn't have stuff to do on lunch. Not only am I eating lunch, but I plan activities like what you mention to times outside of work. At most I'll add in a visit to the post office. If I have to cash a cheque, that's a Saturday morning.
jimbokun 9y ago
"I get funny looks, and my coworkers sometimes ask me "where have you been?"" You may be over analyzing it. Are you sure its not just small talk, like "where did you go for lunch, was it any good?" Talking about restaurants and food is one of the most popular conversation topics at my office.
- cr0sh 9y ago
  > You may be over analyzing it. I'd say it would depend on the tone and body language in which it was said; the words themselves, "where have you been?", could easily take on multiple meaning depending on inflection and delivery. It could be small talk, and maybe it might be a cultural difference, but the words alone (without taking inflection, etc into account) sound accusatory to me; if they were really wanting to know where their coworker had gone to lunch, and whether it was any good or whatnot, I would think they would phrase it closer to what you wrote, rather than what the OP has stated.
gk1 9y ago
I know of a startup that does group lunch every day. Even the remote people join (through Hangouts). I found it pleasant... It strengthens the team _and_ forces everyone to take their eyes away from a screen, slow down, and get out of the weeds. They go on a group hike every afternoon for the same reason. I don't know how long they'll be able to keep it up as they grow, but I thought it was great.
- FTA 9y ago
  For someone who gets anxiety about judgment from others for what they eat (and what they don't), this would be absolutely horrifying.
- Danihan 9y ago
  I hate stuff like this. I don't want to be forced to "take my eyes off the screen" when I'm in the middle of fixing something difficult or important. For fuck's sake. Not only is it patronizing and paternalistic, it defeats the whole purpose of coming to work in the first place, which, for me, is to get shit done. I'm perfectly capable of knowing and understanding my own limits, and I have my own techniques to "sharpen the saw," so to speak. I might take a power nap, or a walk or quick jog outside. As an introvert, being around people socially at work like this drains the hell out of me. Sure, I can put on a happy face for the meeting, but it'll also take me an extra hour or two to recharge afterwards. Which is purely wasted time. How is it "strengthening the team" when any introvert there is surely wishing they could just do their job without these sorts of social interruptions? These extrovert-centric assumptions drive me crazy, including at my current job. Just because this sort of social extroversion makes YOU feel more connected, please don't assume that everyone else feels the same way. I feel FAR more connected to the team quietly working on difficult projects without interruption. If I wanted to socialize I'd do it on my own time and in my own way.
  - mmmpop 9y ago
    Strongly agree with this. I showed this thread to my coworkers and they sneered at the assumption that our lives are to be built around our jobs and the people at them. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoy each other and our jobs, but if our boss decided one day this was the new norm, we'd quit so fast our own necks would break running for the door...
jacobr 9y ago
Is it uncommon in your country to have kitchen areas where you can prepare/heat food and eat it? At work maybe half of the office bring or buy food and eat together. Some make a quick salad. Others eat together at a restaurant or alone.
Accacin 9y ago
Wow, that's weird. I need the one hour break from my colleagues as with how our office is laid out it can get pretty busy and noisy and I can't listen to music all day. Luckily where I work there's a small boating lake that I can walk around just across the road which is incredibly nice to walk around for half an hour every lunch time. It's also lucky that my colleagues all like to go alone for lunch too :D

Lord_Zero 9y ago

Wat. What kind of an adult doesn't have stuff to do on lunch? I usually do some of these: work out, get my dry cleaning, run home to grab packages, make lunch, take a nap, shower real quick after a work out, go to the dentist, etc. If I was purely locked in to 45 hours a week with my coworkers id be job hunting.

maaaats 9y ago
What about adults having shorter hours? Standard work-week in my country is 37.5 hours. If I were so cramped on time that I had to stress to get shit done in the middle of my job-day I'd be job hunting.
- Lord_Zero 9y ago
  Good luck job hunting for a job like that in the US. Here standard vacation is 1-2 weeks per year and getting your 8 hours in between 8am and 5pm is also the norm. Sadly we don't have the luxury of having such flexible hours and large vacation packages as is standard in foreign countries.
drdeadringer 9y ago
I am a kind of an adult who doesn't have stuff to do on lunch. Not only am I eating lunch, but I plan activities like what you mention to times outside of work. At most I'll add in a visit to the post office. If I have to cash a cheque, that's a Saturday morning.

jimbokun 9y ago

"I get funny looks, and my coworkers sometimes ask me "where have you been?"" You may be over analyzing it. Are you sure its not just small talk, like "where did you go for lunch, was it any good?" Talking about restaurants and food is one of the most popular conversation topics at my office.

cr0sh 9y ago
> You may be over analyzing it. I'd say it would depend on the tone and body language in which it was said; the words themselves, "where have you been?", could easily take on multiple meaning depending on inflection and delivery. It could be small talk, and maybe it might be a cultural difference, but the words alone (without taking inflection, etc into account) sound accusatory to me; if they were really wanting to know where their coworker had gone to lunch, and whether it was any good or whatnot, I would think they would phrase it closer to what you wrote, rather than what the OP has stated.

gk1 9y ago

I know of a startup that does group lunch every day. Even the remote people join (through Hangouts). I found it pleasant... It strengthens the team _and_ forces everyone to take their eyes away from a screen, slow down, and get out of the weeds. They go on a group hike every afternoon for the same reason. I don't know how long they'll be able to keep it up as they grow, but I thought it was great.

FTA 9y ago
For someone who gets anxiety about judgment from others for what they eat (and what they don't), this would be absolutely horrifying.
Danihan 9y ago
I hate stuff like this. I don't want to be forced to "take my eyes off the screen" when I'm in the middle of fixing something difficult or important. For fuck's sake. Not only is it patronizing and paternalistic, it defeats the whole purpose of coming to work in the first place, which, for me, is to get shit done. I'm perfectly capable of knowing and understanding my own limits, and I have my own techniques to "sharpen the saw," so to speak. I might take a power nap, or a walk or quick jog outside. As an introvert, being around people socially at work like this drains the hell out of me. Sure, I can put on a happy face for the meeting, but it'll also take me an extra hour or two to recharge afterwards. Which is purely wasted time. How is it "strengthening the team" when any introvert there is surely wishing they could just do their job without these sorts of social interruptions? These extrovert-centric assumptions drive me crazy, including at my current job. Just because this sort of social extroversion makes YOU feel more connected, please don't assume that everyone else feels the same way. I feel FAR more connected to the team quietly working on difficult projects without interruption. If I wanted to socialize I'd do it on my own time and in my own way.
- mmmpop 9y ago
  Strongly agree with this. I showed this thread to my coworkers and they sneered at the assumption that our lives are to be built around our jobs and the people at them. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoy each other and our jobs, but if our boss decided one day this was the new norm, we'd quit so fast our own necks would break running for the door...

jacobr 9y ago

Is it uncommon in your country to have kitchen areas where you can prepare/heat food and eat it? At work maybe half of the office bring or buy food and eat together. Some make a quick salad. Others eat together at a restaurant or alone.

Accacin 9y ago

Wow, that's weird. I need the one hour break from my colleagues as with how our office is laid out it can get pretty busy and noisy and I can't listen to music all day. Luckily where I work there's a small boating lake that I can walk around just across the road which is incredibly nice to walk around for half an hour every lunch time. It's also lucky that my colleagues all like to go alone for lunch too :D