One of our recently-placed Administrators walked out of a management meeting half-way through stating that “It was now her lunch hour”.
Suffice to say, her managers sat there stunned as she waltzed out the door; she had gone from being a temporary contractor to accepting the role permanently a week before. She then quit two days later stating that she wasn’t able to commit to permanency.
Our client boasted a very flexible workplace where people pulled together to get common tasks done on time, and there was very little turnover of staff due to the mature respect given to the ebb & flow nature of the hours. There would be days when you might need to stay back to 6pm to get a proposal done, but other days when you may need to finish early to get to the dentist at 3pm. Nobody abused the trust system, and there were no ‘hours owing’ or clock-punching activity going on. Everyone was there for a purpose – and liked being treated with dignity.
So what kind of company suits you? If the time that you demand you start, have your breaks, and finish up are inflexible, then you’re telling your manager that this company works for you, and not the other way round. You certainly have your rights to your breaks/time-off, but to aggressively insist of them shows a distinct distrust of your employer – and sets a cold tone that will be next to impossible to reverse.
That said – if the organisation you’ve just joined has your workmates queueing up at 4.55pm at the card-puncher… you have to ask the question – Do they love their job? I’m guessing not.