Where I work, chitchat during lunch break is main communication bus. Since I am preparing my food at home, I don’t go to the canteen and I am the black sheep in the office. I am the last one to get the news. It’s seriously wrong, because there are no written agreements at all.
...so go to the canteen anyway and talk while you eat together? I can think of plenty of times where a shared lunch with some co-workers was a mix of people bringing food and buying from the cafe.
Having agreements in writing is important for reference. Being present for their creation (and therefore having a say as it takes shape) is worth it.
You are perfectly right, in that this is a real thing.
Lunches are not just food intake, and being there or not will have an effect on your work life.
I personally feel it’s something that should be more explicited. It goes well along shared bathroom breaks, cigarette breaks, after hours drinking, golf on week-ends.
We all draw the line somewhere different on wether we are willing to do it or not, but it should at least be made clearer this is part of work and not some fun ride. We make it clear with our family or partners, it should be clear on the company side as well.
Note: eating with friends that happen to work at the same place is yet another matter, that’s not what I am pointing at
You are right, I should do it. It’s very important to participate in office politics and decision making process. I think, other companies have separate meetings for this. But I am not going to stay here for 5 years.
I can 100% guarantee you that if you find yourself at a company that has a dining room available for lunch, business planning will happen there, one way or another. It is human nature to discuss things while breaking bread.
