Break (work)

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Two men taking a break during their workday Two Men Taking a Break.JPG
Two men taking a break during their workday

A break at work (or work-break) is a period of time during a shift in which an employee is allowed to take time off from their job. It is a type of downtime. There are different types of breaks, and depending on the length and the employer's policies, the break may or may not be paid.

Contents

Meal breaks, tea breaks, coffee breaks, lunch breaks or smoko usually range from ten minutes to one hour. Their purpose is to allow the employee to have a meal that is regularly scheduled during the work day. For a typical daytime job, this is lunch, but this may vary for those with other work hours. Lunch breaks allow an employee's energy to replenish. [1] It is not uncommon for this break to be unpaid, and for the entire work day from start to finish to be longer than the number of hours paid in order to accommodate this time.

Break laws and regulations

Finland

In Finland, works breaks are guaranteed by both the Finnish Working Hours Act as well as by collective agreements. Workplaces with collective agreements may differ from the break standards set by the Working Hours Act. Under the Working Hours Act, workers who work for 6 or more hours a day are entitled to a break of 1 hour at minimum. A worker can make an agreement with their employer to take a shorter break, but the break cannot be shorter than 30 minutes. Workers are free to leave their workplaces during their breaks. Workers working for more than 10 hours in a single day must be given a 30 minute break after the first 8 hours. [2]

France

In France, adult workers are entitled to a 20 minute break for every 6 hours worked. Longer breaks may be established through collective agreements. Workers are permitted to leave their workplaces during their breaks. [3]

Japan

In Japan, workers are entitled to a 45 minute break for every 6 hours worked and a 1 hour break for every 8 hours worked. [4]

Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the Working Hours Act grants workers 30 minutes of unpaid break time if they work for over 5.5 hours, which may also be taken in two 15 minute breaks. Workers are granted a 45 minute break if they work for over 10 hour, which may also be taken in 15 minute intervals. Longer breaks may be established through collective agreements. [5]

Norway

In Norway, workers are entitled to a work break if they work for 5.5 hours. For every 8 hours, a worker is entitled to a 30 minute break. If the workplace does not have a break room, the break must be paid. If a worker works more than 2 hours after their regular hours, they are entitled to a paid 30 minute break. [6]

Sweden

In Sweden, the Working Hours Act grants workers the right to a break every 5 hours. Exceptions to the law are permitted if they are part of a collective agreement approved by an employee organization. Workers are permitted to leave their workplaces during their breaks. [7]

United States

Modern break laws in the United States stem from labor laws passed between 1935 and 1974. It was during this time that jobs in the U.S. modernized and the country's desire for these laws sparked. In 1938 the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed. This federal statute was implemented in order to protect employees from abuses that had become commonplace during the Great Depression. [8] During this time it was not unusual for companies to work their employees for long hours without a break and to pay them minuscule wages. [8] When the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act were finally set in place in 1945, such abuses were outlawed.

According to a study, the amount of time people are taking for lunch breaks in the United States is shrinking, thereby making the term "lunch hour" a misnomer. [9] Some employers request the lunch to be taken at their work station or do not offer lunch breaks at all. Many employees are taking shorter lunch breaks in order to compete with other employees for a better position, and to show their productivity. [10]

As of 2017, twenty-six states in the United States do not carry break laws in their legislature, such as Texas and Florida. [11] The state of California requires that both meal and rest breaks be given to employees; workers in New York must be given meal breaks, but rest breaks are not required. [11]

In some U.S. states, such as the state of California, meal breaks are legally mandated. [9] Penalties can be severe for failing to adequately staff one's business premises so that all employees can rotate through their mandatory meal and rest breaks. For example, on April 16, 2007, the Supreme Court of California unanimously affirmed a trial court judgment requiring Kenneth Cole Productions to pay an additional hour of pay for each day that a store manager had been forced to work a nine-hour shift without a break. [12] On April 12, 2012, the Supreme Court of California issued its long-awaited opinion in Brinker Restaurant Corp., et al. v. Superior Court., [13] which addressed a number of issues that have been the subject of much litigation in California for many years. The California Supreme court ruled that employers satisfy their California Labor Code section 512 obligation to "provide" meal periods to nonexempt employees by (1) relieving employees of all duty; (2) relinquishing control over their activities and permitting them a reasonable opportunity to take an uninterrupted 30-minute break; and (3) not impeding or discouraging them from doing so. Importantly, the court agreed that employers are not obliged to "police" meal breaks to ensure that no work is performed. Even if an employee chooses to work during a properly provided meal period, an employer will not be liable for any premium pay, and will only be liable to pay for the time worked during a meal period so long as the employer knew or reasonably should have known that the employee was working during the meal period. [14]

Restroom breaks

A short break to allow an employee to use a restroom or WC and will generally last less than 10 minutes. Many employers expect their employees to use the facilities during their regularly scheduled breaks and lunches. Denying employees rights to use the facilities as needed could adversely affect workplace sanitation and workers' health and could create legal issues for both these and other reasons. [15] Employers and co-workers often frown on employees who are seen as taking too many of these breaks, and this could be a cause for progressive discipline from a written warning up to termination. In today's setting, however, restroom breaks are generally accepted and not tracked by employers. In February 2017, an official in Övertorneå Municipality, Sweden proposed an hour-long break for sexual activity. [16]

Coffee break

Seattle city employees taking a coffee break in the 1960s City Light employees on coffee break, 1960s.jpg
Seattle city employees taking a coffee break in the 1960s

A coffee break in the United States and elsewhere is a short mid-morning rest period granted to employees in business and industry, corresponding with the Commonwealth terms "elevenses", "smoko" (in Australia), "morning tea", "tea break", or even just "tea". An afternoon coffee break, or afternoon tea, often occurs as well.

The origin of the tea break, as is now incorporated into the law of most countries, stems from research undertaken in England in the early 1900s. A.F. Stanley Kent, an Oxford graduate and the first Professor of Physiology at University College, Bristol, undertook scientific research on industrial fatigue at the request of the Home Office (UK). This work followed the International Congress of Hygiene and Demography held in Brussels in 1903 where a resolution was passed that "the various governments should facilitate as far as possible investigation into the subject of Industrial Fatigue". This was due to its noted bearing on the incidence of accidents and excessive sickness. The monotony of work and the effect of alcohol on muscular activity and mental fatigue were also mentioned. The Tea Break came as a direct result of this work.

When Kent was sent by the Home Secretary to stop wartime munitions production as a trial to test the effect of a tea break on productivity, the factory manager refused on the grounds that he had a production schedule within which he must comply. Meeting this challenge, Kent showed the letter from the Home Secretary and observed that if necessary he would have the police called to arrest the manager who blocked the Home Office directive. The results of Kent's study were presented to both Houses of Parliament on 17 August 1915 in an "Interim Report on Industrial Fatigue by Physiological Methods". It was the first time that the government had owned and operated factories and therefore had the right to intervene in their operational methods. Again presenting to both Houses of Parliament on 16 August 1916, Kent read from his "Blue Book" that during his research it had been "possible to obtain information upon...such [matters] as the need to provide canteens in munitions factories, the question of proper feeding of the factory worker, provision of accommodation in factories for the changing and drying of shoes and clothing, and the proper use of appliances provided for ventilating the work-rooms". [17]

The coffee break allegedly originated in the late 19th century in Stoughton, Wisconsin, with the wives of Norwegian immigrants. The city celebrates this every year with the Stoughton Coffee Break Festival. [18] The first company to officially incorporate the coffee break for workers was either the Larkin Soap Company or the Barcolo Company, both of which were located in Buffalo, NY. It is not clear which was actually first, but they both established the coffee break for employees on a regular basis, both morning and afternoon, by 1902. [19]

In 1951, Time noted that "[s]ince the war, the coffee break has been written into union contracts". [20] The term subsequently became popular through a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign of 1952 which urged consumers, "Give yourself a Coffee-Break — and Get What Coffee Gives to You." [21] John B. Watson, a behavioral psychologist who worked with Maxwell House later in his career, helped to popularize coffee breaks within the American culture. [22]

A woman with a "Break over" sign at St. Gallen Symposium, 1996 26. Internationales Management Symposium-Helferin mit Schild Break over-HSGN 028-01097.jpg
A woman with a "Break over" sign at St. Gallen Symposium, 1996

Coffee breaks usually last from 10 to 20 minutes and frequently occur at the end of the first third of the work shift. In some companies and some civil service, the coffee break may be observed formally at a set hour. In some places, a "cart" with hot and cold beverages and cakes, breads and pastries arrives at the same time morning and afternoon, an employer may contract with an outside caterer for daily service, or coffee breaks may take place away from the actual work-area in a designated cafeteria or tea room.

More generally, the phrase "coffee break" has also come to denote any break from work.

Snack breaks

Snack breaks are usually shorter than meal breaks, and allow an employee to have a quick snack, or to accomplish other personal needs. Similar types of breaks include restroom and smoke breaks but "snack break" is standard US nomenclature for such breaks. These breaks are also required in the state of California; one 10–15-minute break for every 3.5 hours worked. A few other US states have similar laws, but most do not.[ citation needed ] Some employers allow employees to stop their work for short durations at any time to take care of these needs.

Smoking breaks

A waiter in Turkey taking a smoke break outside of his workplace Waiter Takes a Smoke Break - Canakkale Clocktower - Dardanelles - Turkey (5731104910).jpg
A waiter in Turkey taking a smoke break outside of his workplace

Many companies in the 21st century do not allow smoking on their property, although some employers allow workers to leave the premises to smoke, and some jurisdictions have laws prohibiting smoking in an enclosed place where others are employed. Smoke (or 'smoko') breaks can be of different lengths but, for the most part, are shorter than lunch breaks. Some employers are very strict about smoking. A criticism of smoking breaks is that non-smoking employees do not receive the small respite because they simply do not smoke. In some working environments, however, smoking breaks are widely accepted and seen by some as a good way to network with colleagues.

See also

Related Research Articles

Elevenses is a short break taken at around 11:00 a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The names and details vary among countries.

Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Working time</span> Period of time that an individual spends at paid occupational labor

Working (laboring) time is the period of time that a person spends at paid labor. Unpaid labor such as personal housework or caring for children or pets is not considered part of the working week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993</span> US labor law

The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) is a United States labor law requiring covered employers to provide employees with job-protected, unpaid leave for qualified medical and family reasons. The FMLA was a major part of President Bill Clinton's first-term domestic agenda, and he signed it into law on February 5, 1993. The FMLA is administered by the Wage and Hour Division of the United States Department of Labor.

The weekdays and weekend are the complementary parts of the week devoted to labour and rest, respectively. The legal weekdays, or workweek, is the part of the seven-day week devoted to working. In most of the world, the workweek is from Monday to Friday and the weekend is Saturday and Sunday. A weekday or workday is any day of the working week. Other institutions often follow this pattern, such as places of education. The constituted weekend has varying definitions, based on determined calendar days, designated period of time, and/or regional definition of the working week. Sometimes the term "weekend" is expanded to include the time after work hours on the last workday of the week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988</span> United States labor law

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 is a U.S. labor law that protects employees, their families, and communities by requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to provide notification 60 calendar days in advance of planned closings and mass layoffs of employees. In 2001, there were about 2,000 mass layoffs and plant closures that were subject to WARN advance notice requirements and that affected about 660,000 employees.

Sick leave is paid time off from work that workers can use to stay home to address their health needs without losing pay. It differs from paid vacation time or time off work to deal with personal matters, because sick leave is intended for health-related purposes. Sick leave can include a mental health day and taking time away from work to go to a scheduled doctor's appointment. Some policies also allow paid sick time to be used to care for sick family members, or to address health and safety needs related to domestic violence or sexual assault. Menstrual leave is another type of time off work for a health-related reason, but it is not always paid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoko</span> Short break taken during work

In Australian, New Zealand, and Falkland Islands English, a smoko is a short, often informal break taken during work or military duty, although any short break such as a rest or a coffee or tea break can be called a smoko. Among sheep shearers in Australia, the smoko is a mid-morning break, between breakfast and lunch, in which a light meal may be eaten.

Lunch is a meal eaten around the middle of the day. It is commonly the second meal of the day, after breakfast, and varies in size by culture and region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938</span> United States wage law

The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 29 U.S.C. § 203 (FLSA) is a United States labor law that creates the right to a minimum wage, and "time-and-a-half" overtime pay when people work over forty hours a week. It also prohibits employment of minors in "oppressive child labor". It applies to employees engaged in interstate commerce or employed by an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, unless the employer can claim an exemption from coverage. The Act was enacted by the 75th Congress and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California Labor Code</span> Collection of Californian civil law statutes

The California Labor Code, more formally known as "the Labor Code", is a collection of civil law statutes for the State of California. The code is made up of statutes which govern the general obligations and rights of persons within the jurisdiction of the State of California. The stated goal of the Department of Industrial Relations is to promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners of California, to improve their working conditions and to advance their opportunities for profitable employment."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wage and Hour Division</span> Federal office in the United States

The Wage and Hour Division (WHD) of the United States Department of Labor is the federal office responsible for enforcing federal labor laws. The Division was formed with the enactment of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. The Wage and Hour mission is to promote and achieve compliance with labor standards to protect and enhance the welfare of the Nation's workforce. WHD protects over 144 million workers in more than 9.8 million establishments throughout the United States and its territories. The Wage and Hour Division enforces over 13 laws, most notably the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. In FY18, WHD recovered $304,000,000 in back wages for over 240,000 workers and followed up FY19, with a record-breaking $322,000,000 for over 300,000 workers.

Work–life balance in the United States is having enough time for work and enough time to have a personal life in the United States. Related, though broader, terms include lifestyle balance and life balance. The most important thing in work and life is the personal ability to demonstrate and meet the needs of work and personal life in order to achieve goals. People should learn to deal with role engagement management, role conflict management and managing life needs to achieve balance. Balance is about how to properly achieve the desired work and life satisfaction and needs in a conflict situation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whistleblower protection in the United States</span>

A whistleblower is a person who exposes any kind of information or activity that is deemed illegal, unethical, or not correct within an organization that is either private or public. The Whistleblower Protection Act was made into federal law in the United States in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wage theft</span> Denial of wages or employee benefits rightfully owed to an employee

Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them failing to pay overtime; violating minimum-wage laws; the misclassification of employees as independent contractors; illegal deductions in pay; forcing employees to work "off the clock", not paying annual leave or holiday entitlements, or simply not paying an employee at all.

A Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights is legislation designed to grant basic labor protections to domestic workers. These laws are supported by the National Domestic Workers Alliance, a labor advocacy group founded in 2007. The first such law took effect in New York state on November 29, 2010. Among other rights, this law gave domestic workers the right to overtime pay, a day of rest every seven days, three paid days of rest each year, protection under the state human rights law, and a special cause of action for domestic workers who suffer sexual or racial harassment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Work Act 2009</span> Australian industrial relations law

The Fair Work Act 2009(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. Replacing the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation, the Act established Fair Work Australia, later renamed the Fair Work Commission.

Workers' right to access the toilet refers to the rights of employees to take a break when they need to use the toilet. The right to access a toilet is a basic human need. Unless both the employee and employer agree to compensate the employee on rest breaks an employer cannot take away the worker's right to access a toilet facility while working. There is limited information on the rights workers have to access public toilets among the world's legal systems. The law is not clear in New Zealand, United Kingdom, or the United States of America as to the amount of time a worker is entitled to use a toilet while working. Nor is there clarification on what constitutes a 'reasonable' amount of access to a toilet. Consequently, the lack of access to toilet facilities has become a health issue for many workers. Issues around workplace allowance to use a toilet has given light on issues such as workers having to ask permission to use a toilet and some workers having their pay deducted for the mere human right of using a toilet when they need to.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Right to sit</span> Policies granting the right to be granted suitable seating at work

The right to sit refers to laws or policies granting workers the right to be granted suitable seating at the workplace. Jurisdictions that have enshrined "right to sit" laws or policies include Mexico, France, Spain, Argentina, the United Kingdom, Jamaica, South Africa, Eswatini, Cameroon, Tanzania, Uganda, Lesotho, Malaysia, Brazil, Israel, Ireland, Zambia, Guyana, the Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, several Canadian provinces and territories, and the British overseas territories of Gibraltar and Montserrat. Almost all states of the United States and Australia, as well as the majority of Canadian provinces, passed right to sit legislation for women workers between 1881 and 1917. US states with current right to sit legislation include California, Florida, Massachusetts, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. A right to sit provision is included in the International Labour Organization's Hygiene Convention, 1964; the international treaty being ratified by 52 countries as of 2023. EU-OSHA recommends suitable seating as a best practice. Local jurisdictions with right to sit laws include Portland, Oregon, St. Louis, Missouri, and London's Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Break room</span>

A break room is a room in a workplace where employees can go during meals and other breaks.

References

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  4. "Section 4. Human Resource Management". Japan External Trade Organization . Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  5. "Working Hours Act". Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment . Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  6. "Working in Norway: Your rights and obligations". Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority . Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  7. "Working Hours Act (1982:673)" (PDF). Government Offices of Sweden . Retrieved 2024-07-16.
  8. 1 2 "Fair Labor Standards Act". Encyclopedia.com.
  9. 1 2 Armour, Stephanie (2006-06-12). "Lunch break: Yeah, right". USA Today.
  10. "Why the lunch break is going extinct - Careers - NBC News". NBC News. 2007-08-20. Archived from the original on September 20, 2015. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  11. 1 2 "State Laws on Meal and Rest Breaks". Workplace Fairness.
  12. Murphy v. Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. 40 Cal. 4th 1094 (2007).
  13. Brinker Restaurant Corp., et al. v. Superior Court. (Hohnbaum), No. S166350 (Apr. 12, 2012) [ permanent dead link ]
  14. "California Supreme Court Clarifies Meal and Rest Break Obligations". The National Law Review. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. 2012-04-12. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
  15. "What Breaks (Rest, Snack, Meals, Smoking, Health, Etc.) Am I Entitled To under FLSA (the Fair Labor Standards Act)?". Ehso.com. 2008-02-21. Archived from the original on 2019-07-14. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  16. "Swedish town pitches taking a paid break for sex". seattletimes.com. 23 February 2017.
  17. This history can be verified in Hansard and also through the publication The Black Bag (Journal of the Medical Faculty of Bristol University: Vol IX NO 2. Spring Term 1953) honouring Dr Kent as he approached his 90th birthday.
  18. "Stoughton, WI – Where the Coffee Break Originated". www.stoughtonwi.com. Stoughton, Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-06-11. Mr. Osmund Gunderson decided to ask the Norwegian wives, who lived just up the hill from his warehouse, if they would come and help him sort the tobacco. The women agreed, as long as they could have a break in the morning and another in the afternoon, to go home and tend to their chores. Of course, this also meant they were free to have a cup of coffee from the pot that was always hot on the stove. Mr. Gunderson agreed and with this simple habit, the coffee break was born.
  19. "Two cases for Buffalo as the home of the first coffee break". 2 June 2020.
  20. "Time – March 1951". Time . 1951-03-05.
  21. "The Coffee break". npr.org. 2002-12-02. Archived from the original on May 28, 2009. Retrieved 2009-06-10. Wherever the coffee break originated, Stamberg says, it may not actually have been called a coffee break until 1952. That year, a Pan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign urged consumers, 'Give yourself a Coffee-Break – and Get What Coffee Gives to You.'
  22. Hunt, Morton M. (1993). The story of psychology (1st ed.). New York: Doubleday. p.  260. ISBN   0-385-24762-1. [work] for Maxwell House that helped make the 'coffee break' an American custom in offices, factories, and homes.