In an era that glamorizes remote work for its flexibility and other amazing benefits, traditional in-person job roles are fast losing their appeal. But in situations where it’s absolutely impossible to work from home, we’re considerate enough to tolerate it.
So, wake up early and endure the stress of commuting from home to work and back again? No problem. Incur additional expenses from transport fares, work clothes, etc? We can deal with that. How about the reduced flexibility? We can work around that. But missing out on our lunch breaks at the time we want it? Now, that is where many of us, or at least, this beautiful young woman in this story, draw the line.
The lady in question is TikTok user @nocontextyagass and she wasted no time in sharing her experience at work. @nocontextyagass was entitled to a 30-minute break which she decided to take at the end of her shift because she wanted to close early.
Unfortunately, her bosses weren’t having it because according to them, employees weren’t allowed to take breaks 30 minutes before their shift was over. Her bosses also mentioned that it wouldn’t be fair to other employees.
Following their refusal, she decided that the only way to resolve the issue was to quit. In her words, “…it wasn’t in the rules anywhere. I just couldn’t do it because nobody else thought of the idea before I had said it. And it wasn’t fair, even though it’s not on the rules.”
Fortunately, luck shone on her and she was able to get another job that hired her immediately after the interview. “I texted my manager at the job that I had had for three weeks and asked her if I could use her as a reference for this new job that I’m applying for, even though I already got it,” she said. If you’re wondering why, it was because she wanted them to know that was their “last strike.”
In an unexpected turn of events, this pretty young lady lost her new job not long after she quit the previous one. She told her new job that she still had her old job even though she didn’t. For that reason, she was able to arrive at the new job late without repercussions. Her employer fired her because she ditched work for a vacation and purposely missed flights so that she didn’t have to resume work.
Good for her, @nocontextyagass had some commenters who could relate to her experience. “Yeah I used to clock out 30 minutes early instead of taking a 30 minute break either way I’m not getting paid for it so ?” one commenter asked.
Another wrote, “I do this!!! I️ leave and clock out 30 minutes early for my ‘break’.”
Meanwhile, others were simply happy that she was able to stand up for herself. One comment made us wonder if opinions would have been different if the tables were turned. “I did those same things then opened up my business now I have employees doing this to me,” it read.
Generally, the U.S Department of Labor doesn’t enforce the mandated lunch breaks. So companies have the discretion concerning when lunch breaks can be taken as long as it doesn’t go against state laws.
