Employee constantly takes 2 hour lunch breaks, gets upset when coworker stops working in protest: 'I work faster than you. It's not my fault you're slow'

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Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Aug 18, 2026 7:15 AM EDT

The only thing worse than a lazy coworker is an entitled one.

We've all had days at work when we weren't as productive as we should have been, and perhaps sometimes that has let someone else down. Unless you are a committed workaholic who never has off days, it is simply a part of what it means to have a job. 

However, if those days start happening more often than they should or we do not show a willingness to reflect, then it can start to be a problem. Any decent manager or colleague will be able to tolerate the occasional slip-up or bout of laziness, but it gets to a point where ignoring such an issue is detrimental to the workplace and other people in it. We can't spend the majority of our shifts not making an effort and expect it to go unnoticed.

Unfortunately, most employees have had the displeasure of working with somebody who both doesn't make the effort that they should and isn't interested in making any positive change. This is especially frustrating when you end up picking up the slack. In these scenarios, it is down to management to make the right decision about these kinds of workers.

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  • An employee wearing headphones smiles as he sits in an office eating salad.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    An employee wearing headphones smiles as he sits in an office eating salad. Picture does not depict real parties.
     

  • Posting their frustrations to r/JustNoCoworker, an employee shared how they had reached their limit with the colleague they shared a desk with. This coworker had been at the job longer than they had, but he didn't seem to care that they were supposed to split their work equally. He took two-hour lunch breaks and generally avoided doing most of his work.

    When they confronted him about this and he dismissed their concerns, they knew that something had to change. They decided that it was time to take radical action, and it wasn't long before the coworker was regretting his arrogance.

  • My coworker takes 2-hour lunches and leaves me all the work—today I snapped

    I share a desk with "Mike." He's been here 4 years. I've been here 8 months. We're supposed to split the workload 50/50. Reality? More like 90/10. Me being the 90.
    via Superb_Teai
  • Mike takes 2-hour lunches. Every single day. Comes back with Starbucks, chats with everyone, takes a "quick" 30- minute phone call, then spends an hour "researching" (scrolling Twitter). Meanwhile, I'm drowning in tickets, client emails, and deadline after deadline.
    via Superb_Teai
  • I've mentioned it to my boss twice. Both times, she said "just communicate better with him." So I did. I sent Mike a calm email with a spreadsheet showing exactly how much each of us did last month. I was at 78 tasks. He was at 22. I asked if we could rebalance.
    via Superb_Teai

  • Mike was totally unwilling to recognize that he was doing less work.

    He replied: "I work faster than you. It's not my fault you're slow." I saw red. Today, Mike left for lunch at 11:30. At 1:45, still not back. I had 3 urgent client requests and a report due at 2 PM. I couldn't do it all. So I stopped.
    via Superb_Teai
  • I sent an email to my boss—cc'ing Mike ―with screenshots of the workload, the timestamps of his lunch "breaks," and a simple question: "Which of these 3 client requests should I drop? Or should I wait until Mike gets back from his 2-hour lunch to decide?"
    via Superb_Teai

  • The manager quickly took charge.

    I attached the spreadsheet again. My boss replied in 4 minutes: "Mike, come to my office when you're back. [My name], drop the lowest-priority request. I'll handle the rest."
    via Superb_Teai
  • Mike came back at 2:10. Saw the email. Didn't say a word. Just walked straight to my boss's office. He came out 20 minutes later looking deflated. Today was the first day he took a 45- minute lunch. Maybe there's hope after all.
    via Superb_Teai
  • An employee wearing headphones sits in an office, leaning back with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head.
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    An employee wearing headphones sits in an office, leaning back with his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. Image for illustrative purposes.
     

  • Commenters were impressed by the 180.

    CollectionGood3190 Wow it went from a manager that was being too lenient to finally handling the issue. So glad Mike got reprimanded and that you, in turn, got some relief. I've seen too many stories where the person trying to do the right thing ends up being the one in the hot seat. Good work!
    via CollectionGood3190
  • BikesOnDikes F Mike!
    via BikesOnDikes
  • No-Chicken-927 How could he be faster if you did so much more tasks then him? What an idiot.
    via No-Chicken-927

  • Some thought his punishment should have been more severe.

    Wendel7171 Boss should have fired him for wage theft.
    via Wendel7171
  • BugFlimsy8236 Good for you..
    via BugFlimsy8236

  • There was more action to be taken.

    Ok_Werewolf2358 I would have fired him. Don't hesitate to show her the r de messages he sent you and to tell HR as well. This is completely unacceptable
    via Ok_Werewolf2358
  • PestCemetary Nice. Now YOU start doing the 10 while he has to do 90. Then watch your manager not believe him when he complains about you. Lol
    via PestCemetary
  • KitchenParticular707 Good for you for standing up for yourself. If things don't change, you need to put your foot down with management. I was in a similar situation years ago when I worked, and the worst part was that my attitude became so bad that my performance reviews suffered. I never had the courage to speak up and it cost me dearly.
    via KitchenParticular707

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