Boss scolds new dad for sleeping during his unpaid lunch hour: 'He even mentioned the statistic that naps are good for you, but not at the workplace.'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Nov 16, 2025 8:00 PM EST

His boss needs to dig deep and think about why he felt the need to nap on the job.

There are a lot of actions and behaviors that are not considered "professional" in the workplace, and we all do some of them. I am guilty of drinking way more of the free Diet Coke in the office fridge than I probably should, but that doesn't mean I am an irredeemably unprofessional employee. It simply means that I'm human, and I push the boundaries of professionalism, just like any employee does. 

The potentially "unprofessional" behavior that frequently raises alarm bells for management is behavior that makes employees appear lazy. If a cashier is scrolling on their phone in between customers, a manager would probably make them put it away, because it makes them look like they're disinterested in the customer, whether or not that's actually the case. In the theatre of the workplace, something looking a certain way is almost as important, and in some cases more important, than something being a certain way. If an employee appears alert, focused, and busy, they can get away with more than an employee who looks tired, lazy, and disengaged. It doesn't always matter if the employee who appears less engaged is actually more engaged.

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  • Exhausted overworked executive manager sleeping on desk table in startup office
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The employee in this story has no problem getting his work done, yet his boss scolds him for appearing unprofessional by sleeping during his lunch break. It would be one thing if this worker was salaried, but his lunch break is literally unpaid, so in a perfect world, he should be able to do whatever he wants during it.

  • Sleeping on my lunch…

    This shit pisses me off. I have an office and I'm a new Dad. I decided yesterday to spend my lunch taking a nap on my hour lunch since I'm not getting much sleep at home. Today I get a
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek
  • "talking to" by my boss saying how he's concerned about me and that I was taking a nap on my lunch yesterday in my office. Also note that I have a door to this office and it was shut plus I signed out for lunch.
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek
  • Signature 4 Signature 4 prove for the purchase extem-For any item not be Financial Controller (for Capex items) with my Signature Date
    via Cytonn Photography

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Am I in the wrong here? First off why are you checking up on me on my lunch break and secondly can I not do what I want on my lunch? Guess I should have gone out to my truck or something but this just irritated me. Felt the need to vent.
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek
  • A parking lot aerial view from above
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Cute-Quiet-6660 This is so American. Napping is good for you and why does he even care what you do on your lunch break?
    via u/Cute-Quiet-6660
  • FindAndYeShallSeek OP You are correct. Haha! I am in the US. He even mentioned that statistic, that naps are good for you but not at the workplace. I literally said so should I just go to my truck in the parking lot then to which he replied that would essentially be the same thing...ok man.
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek
  • dominus087 Ya know what'd be crazy? Like legit insane? If the US gave months of parental leave to new parents, LIKE EVERY OTHER FIRST WORLD COUNTRY, so they could raise their kids properly instead of having to go to the office with 3 hours of sleep a night. Then bosses wouldn't have to "be worried" about their employees trying to catch up on the sleep that human beings PHYSICALLY NEED TO SURVIVE. Crazy. I know.
    via u/dominus087
  • FindAndYeShallSeek OP You're asking too much! Haha! How dare they care about their employees!? They do have FMLA which is the Family Medical Leave Act and that provides some time but that process can be a pain. Plus you only qualify for it after a year of employment. My work unfortunately does not provide paternity or maternity leave.
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek
  • Small Fee5689 Plus FMLA is just job protection, it doesn't pay your salary. I hate the US
    via u/Small_Fee5689
  • dominus087 And you only get FMLA if your company meets requirements, it's not for every company. And even then you need to "vest" into FMLA, it's not given to you upon employment. US workers rights are in shambles. Hope we can turn that around for our kids.
    via u/dominus087
  • Rionin26 Smaller companies dont need to comply, and those are the ones who need it.
    via u/Rionin26
  • DabsSparkPeace Then ask him why companies like Google and others (and my company) have napping areas for workers on breaks.
    via u/DabsSparkPeace
  • Yeppery Yepstein I will never forget when I worked for Kroger as a teenager around 2004. I was a dairy clerk and routinely had to crouch down to retrieve the items at the back of the freezers to bring them forward. I remember how fatigued I was crouching over and over for 35 hours each week, so I started to kneel on one knee when rotating the products in the freezer.
    via u/YepperyYepstein
  • After about a week of doing that, the store manager calls me in and asks me why I am kneeling instead of crouching. I explained it's easier on my legs and back. "I don't want to see you kneeling anymore. If you are rotating product, you need to crouch," he said.
    via u/YepperyYepstein
  • I said that's fine, but wondered if there was a true kinesthetic or productivity difference. He replied, "No, but customers don't want to see you taking it easy. You need to appear like you are working hard. Crouching gives off that 'hard working' image, so that's what you are going to do."
    via u/YepperyYepstein
  • This cascades over to the principle of napping on an unpaid lunch. There was a time when money got tight and I already worked a stable 8-5 full time job but also had to work at a night time job that began right after my first job ended. I remember getting a talking to by my manager because someone witnessed me sleeping in my car on my lunch. I inquired about this, since I was sleeping while not being paid/I was off the clock. The answer I got back mimicked this sentiment that older people in pos
    via u/YepperyYepstein
  • To this day I still run into semblances of this, although the frequency has died down. There was a day at a remote job I held where I joined with a sweater on in winter and received a talking to that my attire did not adhere to the collared shirt rule. I explained I was cold, but was told that I needed to have a collar displayed on video no matter what. Since I have rent due and bills to pay, I didn't argue, and I've just sort of turned into an automaton that just keeps my head down and hopes fo
    via u/YepperyYepstein
  • tl;dr silent gen, gen-x and to an extent boomers are more obsessed with observations of outwardly toil and expenditure. Seeing demonstrations of "elbow grease" being applied, even if there's a more effective or comfortable way, is optimal to fulfill whatever sadistic requirement they are looking for.
    via u/YepperyYepstein
  • account_not_valid And that's why supermarket cashiers in american supermarkets have to stand for hours, even though that is not healthy or efficient. Meanwhile, in Europe, they can sit. And the job is done equally as well, if not better.
    via u/account_not_valid
  • lamSithCats Some bosses conveniently forget that they don't own you when you're not on the clock. Does this boss make a habit of talking to employees about work-related things when they're on break, off the clock, etc.? Does he normalize or expect employees to work during lunch breaks? In any case, he is wrong and trying to make an issue of something he should not.
    via u/lamSithCats
  • FindAndYeShallSeek OP Hell now that you say it he does do those things I think that's exactly what it is, trying to make something out of nothing. He mentioned that it was him looking out for me because HR could get involved potentially...uhm how and why?
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek
  • Hippy_Lynne Yeah, you head this off by getting HR involved now. Dictating what employees can and cannot do on their unpaid lunch could easily turn all lunches into paid lunch. HR doesn't wanna deal with the potential lawsuit from that.
    via u/Hippy_Lynne
  • FindAndYeShallSeek OP Good point! Could open up a can of worms! Thanks Hippy for bringing out my scheming side
    via u/FindAndYeShallSeek

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