Manager schedules daily check-ins during employee's lunch break, employee insists on cooking during the meeting anyway: 'I made a full grilled cheese on my little desk griddle'

Author image for Ben Weiss
Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Mar 27, 2026 8:00 AM EDT

This manager was unwilling to respect his employee's designated lunch breaks, so in return, this employee was unwilling to wait until after their meeting to eat.

Many of us have worked in environments where the sometimes unspoken rule is the pressure to stay at one's desk and work through lunch hours. Oftentimes, new hires will take notes from their superiors. If they see that the folks on the team rarely take the lunch break that they're very much entitled to take, then the cycle will likely continue until someone challenges it.

This worker shared his story about what happened when his manager decided to reschedule their daily check-in meetings to take place right at 12:00 pm. Despite numerous attempts to subtly imply that this was not an ideal for him, as the employee was someone who valued his lunch breaks, his manager would not budge. So, the employee decided that he would comply and attend these meetings, but he wasn't exactly going to follow classic meeting decorum.

Instead, he decided to use this time to cook elaborate and sometimes very noisy lunch while remaining unmuted during these meetings. First, it was ramen. Then, it was a salad that required a ton of chopping (yes, he chose this recipe specifically because of the number of vegetables he would need to chop). Finally, he decided to cook a full-on grilled cheese with a small griddle he was gifted by his spouse. His manager wasn't very happy with this, but at the end of the day, he had no one to blame but himself.

Advertisement
  • A remote employee eats lunch during a Zoom meeting.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A remote employee eats lunch during a Zoom meeting.

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

  • so i work remote and my lunch is 12 to 1. thats it. thats my hour. i put it on my calendar as blocked off months ago when i started and nobody ever had a problem with it until we got a new team lead back in like october.
    via McCoy818
  • this dude started scheduling "quick syncs" at 12:15 or 12:30 almost every single day. i asked him twice, nicely, if he could move them. first time he said oh yeah my bad and then did it again
    via McCoy818
  • two days later. second time he just goes "we're all flexible here" which is corporate speak for i dont care about your time.
    via McCoy818
  • i skip breakfast most days. like ill have coffee and maybe one of those little mandarin oranges but thats it. so by noon im genuinely hungry, not like oh i could eat
    via McCoy818
  • hungry but like my stomach is making sounds in meetings hungry. and hes just sitting there going through his slides about quarterly targets or whatever while im starving.
    via McCoy818
  • so i stopped fighting it. he wants me in meetings at lunch? cool. im eating lunch in the meeting.
    via McCoy818
  • A remote employee stands from his desk to refill his drink while eating lunch during a Zoom meeting.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A remote employee stands from his desk to refill his drink while eating lunch during a Zoom meeting.

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

  • started small. a sandwich on camera, no big deal right. nobody said anything. then i brought leftover pasta and heated it up, you could hear the microwave in the background and i didnt mute.
    via McCoy818
  • then one day i made a full grilled cheese on my little desk griddle thing my wife got me for christmas. like i was flipping it and everything. the butter sizzling. i angled my camera so you could see the whole operation.
    via McCoy818
  • honestly the best part was when one of my coworkers unmuted just to ask what kind of cheese i was using. i told him it was gruyere and he went "nice" and muted again. my manager just kinda paused for a second and kept going.
    via McCoy818
  • it escalated from there. i did ramen with the whole process, boiling water, cracking the egg in. i did a full salad once where i was chopping vegetables for like the first ten minutes of the call. that
    via McCoy818
  • one was funny because the chopping sound was so loud someone in the chat typed "are you okay lol"
    via McCoy818
  • idk if he ever officially moved the meetings because of it or if he just got tired of watching me eat on camera every day but after about three weeks the 12 oclock
    via McCoy818
  • meetings just stopped showing up. he moved everything to 11 or 1:30. never said a word about it to me.
    via McCoy818

  • If this manager could not see the value and importance of allowing employees to utilize their lunch hours, then he doesn't deserve their undivided attention during those 12:00 pm meetings. I don't care where you work. Employees need breaks to recharge and regroup. Otherwise, morale will decline, as will the quality of the work itself.

  • A remote employee works on his laptop while no longer having to meet with his manager during lunchtime.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    A remote employee works on his laptop while no longer having to meet with his manager during lunchtime.

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

  • the grilled cheese thing became kind of a running joke on the team though. people still bring it up. my coworker mike started doing the same thing in his
    via McCoy818
  • meetings with a different manager and apparently it worked for him too so maybe theres something to it.
    via McCoy818
  • i still have the desk griddle. been thinking about making quesadillas next time someone tries it
    via McCoy818
  • Free_Knee199 the grilled cheese made me chuckle hahah
    via McCoy818
  • Alexis_J_M . Also if your manager schedules meetings in your lunch break you are still entitled to the time away from your desk.
    via McCoy818

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

workplace discussion meetings workplace-stories remote work employee manager lunch funny work stories
Scroll Down For The Next Article