When I was in the office, the only acceptable reasons to be away from your desk were: 1. Bathroom break. Better not take too many or it'll be noticed. 2. Coff

When I was in the office, the only acceptable reasons to be away from your desk were: 1. Bathroom break. Better not take too many or it'll be noticed. 2. Coffee/smoke break outside. Not much scrutiny of this, but I do neither. 3. Exercise break where people walk around the campus for a bit. Not too fun to do in the middle of either a hot or ice-cold midwestern day. Anything else was viewed with a jaundiced eye.