When you are in a training class, what do you think your breaks are for?

Break time is my time. I give 100 percent when I’m in a class, but I want to give 100 percent to myself when it’s my time off. Some bosses get so set on brownnosing they lose sight of getting max performance out of their workers. Give your workers some room to make their own decisions. They’ll amaze you with the effort they give back.

Exactly! When they’re in my class, I have high expectations and am rarely disappointed by any trainee.

The other thing that I try to remember is that people have lives beyond work. If they need to check on their kids or call a parent or make an appointment, I think they should be able to do that.

I use break time to relax and recharge.

I use breaks to go to the bathroom and check phone calls. Perhaps get something to drink. 10 or 15 minutes goes by quick, especially if there is a line to the bathroom. I don’t want to use my break time for the company.

Break time…...it’s called exactly what’s it’s used for….take a break….give the brain a chance to recharge and reset the mind….if that makes any sense….it does to me :)

I need all that time to myself, to recharge and step back from the material so I am not burned-out by information overload.

As a former classroom trainer, I can tell you that the definition of a break is for personal needs. This includes all that you mentioned. Has your supervisor sat in on your whole class? If not, invite her to do so. It won’t take long for her to realize that people need these breaks for personal and professional reasons.

Have you asked the participants if they have enough break time? Your goal is to share information. If the students lose focus , it’s often a sign of more and/or longer breaks are needed. By asking past participants, I found out that the local ones would prefer two half day sessions as to one full day. Those from out of town requested longer breaks made up in longer class time.

If the job requires work be done it is not a break and very likely the employer is breaking the law by asking them to do work related tasks. She might be leaving herself open for a lawsuit if anyone bothered to make a deal about it.

I use precious break time to check if I am reasonably close to homeostasis, recharge my introvert energy as much as possible, and I will even empty my bladder if we have enough time. (We often don’t… I swear, some of my professors must be camels.)

P.S. If participants are on their cell phone in the public restroom during a break, then not enough time is scheduled.

Break time is for leg stretching, rest room use, coffee refills, and making cell phone calls. One should NOT be using it to review class materials.

Well, it’s kind of a tough call maybe, your boss is your boss, sometimes you just have to suck it up and do what they think you should do, but if you are running your own training session, I absolutely agree that breaks should be breaks, that’s what they’re for, to give everyone a little break. Duh! Human beings, in my opinion, unless their surgeons, performing a delicate 12 operation, or are in the midst of an extended emergency, cannot be expected, generally, to remain completely focused for 5 or 6 or 8 or 10 hours at a time with breaks only to allow for going to the bathroom. Even federal and state labor laws allow for, at a minimum, for hourly workers, as far as I know, one 15 minute break for every 4 hours worked and at least a ½ hour lunch break.

Break time should be used for whatever the person on break wants to do with it. I think your boss is flat out wrong.

@all – Many thanks! Sometimes it’s nice to have confirmation that I’m not completely wrong. It’s a paid break time, but I still believe that they need those few minutes to do what they need to or want to. As long as it’s not illegal!

@tedibear It absolutely might be illegal. What state are you in? After a certain amount of hours it is required by law an employer give a paid break. If the employer violates the law it is a legal problem.

@JLeslie – I meant as long as the trainees aren’t doing anything illegal on their breaks, I don’t care what they do. Sorry I wasn’t clear about what I meant there. As for hours, they’re here from 9AM to 4PM, get 2 paid breaks of 10 to 15 minutes each and an unpaid 45 minute lunch.

@tedibear But, if they are asked to work on their break that is not a break.

@JLeslie – Yes, I understand that. And I agree that it isn’t a break. I doubt that we’re running into any issues in terms of the legal piece as we don’t make them do work. They can look at materials or not as they choose. It’s a suggestion, not something they must do. And when I say it, I’m pretty clear via my tone that I’m not concerned what they do as long as it’s not lines of coke or robbing the Dairy Queen.

@tedibear I’ll tell you one story. A company I worked for was sued because they were not paying people for their lunch break when the person had to eat lunch while still working, Nurses were eating at their desk on the floor for instance and still wound up performing some duties, the way their system worked was the computer automatically took a half hour pay for lunch unless you filled a form saying you didn’t get lunch. I personally find a half hour for lunch awful, and I didn’t care what most people did or what the company thought was ok, I actually punched out for the time I took lunch which was usually 45–60 minutes. Anyway, since since some of the employees had to work through lunch, the company wound up paying lots and lots of money in back pay to a lot of people. And, yes, some people for sure took advantage of the court’s ruling and if they had ½ hour pay automatically subtracted some people claimed they worked through some lunches even when the didn’t. But, the reason the company lost the suit was because there were enough people who legitametly were working through lunch and the company had basically expected not to pay people when they were eating lunch, but the law sees it differently.

Your situation is a break, and it sounds like you even gve more breaks than necesarry, but I also think you are not taking labor law as seriously as stealing, except in thebeyesof the law it is like stealing. It is stealing from a company to punch in earlier tha. When you actually start working, and it is stealing from the employee when you don’t pay them for working. Usually at the managerial level you don’t have to pay for all hours worked, and no over time is required, etc. Bu,t at lower levels where all that is requid, the break and lunch requirements apply also.

Break time belongs to the person taking a break. He/she can use the restroom, grab a snack, check for voicemail messages, read a magazine, chat with fellow classmates, get some fresh air…whatever the person chooses to do. An instructor doesn’t get to dictate what any student can or can’t do during a break. If the instructor sets rules for conduct and activity, it isn’t a break at all; it’s just more class time.

And, during a day-long session, those short breaks are very essential. Even with a couple of 15-minute breaks, it’s very difficult for anyone to stay energized and focused for so many hours. Toward the end of the day, people lose their ability to absorb information and learn effectively.

By the way, when I attend all-day sessions, I get up and use the restroom whenever I need to do so. I don’t sit there, squirming in my chair like a schoolgirl, waiting for permission. I may not know everything, but I do know when I need to relieve my own body. No instructor has ever objected. If any instructor were to say something to me, that person would get a very mouthy response in return.

@SadieMartinPaul – When I teach a class, one thing I say is, “This is not the second grade, if you can’t wait for break time to go to the bathroom, then go. If you’re not packing up your stuff and walking out, I’ll assume we’re okay.”