Shamed for taking lunch break lasting...3 minutes
AS workplace transgressions go, most people would consider it barely worth mentioning.
But a Japanese worker who took a total of 78 minutes worth of lunch break over seven months has been publicy shamed and punished by his bosses.
Executives from the Kobe City Waterworks Bureau near Osaka appeared on tV, bowing their apologies to customers for the staff member’s waste of time.
in case he didn’t appreciate the severity of his offence, he was also docked half a day’s pay for his occasional forays away from his desk to buy a ‘bento box’ of rice or noodles, meat and vegetables.
the 64-year-old worker made 26 trips to a nearby store, taking three minutes each time, between September last year and March. He was caught when a senior staff member looked out the window and saw him crossing the street.
During the televised apology, a company official said: ‘it’s immensely regrettable that such a scandal took place and we wish to express our sincere apologies.’
According to the man’s superiors, the reason he gave for leaving the office was that he wanted ‘a change of pace’.
Social media users leapt to the man’s defence, with one twitter user saying: ‘Absolutely ridiculous.’ Another added: ‘the punishment is totally absurd.’
Japanese workers are entitled to lunch breaks but many choose to work through, eating bento boxes at their desks that have been prepared at home or purchased from vendors delivering to offices.
nearly a quarter of Japanese firms have employees working more than 80 hours overtime a month, often unpaid, a recent survey found. And 12 per cent have staff doing more than 100 hours a month.