Archived the gentleman's agreement....

[SpotThe]

I take all my breaks but they are usually cut short cause I get bored really fast.

I think so too. When I get up to the break room I'm just sitting there. The TV is garbage and I'm just waiting to go back to work. It's very boring, not to mention most of the time I don't feel like walking all the way across the store to sit down.

 

[Dreamwolf31]

I remember reading about an article where there was a court case against Target and an ETL, LOD, or something similar to that position. Basically, every time this guy would *try* to take a break, he was getting called out onto the floor to deal with something. I think the case backfired, but I don't remember. Let me know if anyone finds that article, it was actually an interesting read.

 

[konk]

The only reason I could understand someone not taking their break would be if they were trying to catch the carrot. Nothing wrong with that, just not what I'm trying to do.

 

[mrknownothing]

I remember reading about an article where there was a court case against Target and an ETL, LOD, or something similar to that position. Basically, every time this guy would *try* to take a break, he was getting called out onto the floor to deal with something. I think the case backfired, but I don't remember. Let me know if anyone finds that article, it was actually an interesting read.

It was probably a SrTL who was LOD without an ETL or another SrTL in the building.

 

[konk]

That's what I don't understand. How can a sr TL be closing LOD, when they have to take a lunch?

 

[Anonymous]

I was a TL and there were occasions where I would punch out for lunch and then complete the paperwork-ey parts of my job so I wouldn't miss as much time on the floor.

 

[Barcode]

Sometimes when I was a GSA I'd forego my 2nd 15. More often than not though I would take all of my breaks, and sometimes combine my two 15s. It is written policy to take all of your breaks. If you feel pressure not to take your break, or that if you decide to take it that you might be looked down upon, then I would alert integrity.

This is a potential lawsuit for Target and the DTL would snap your STL's neck.

I was a TL and there were occasions where I would punch out for lunch and then complete the paperwork-ey parts of my job so I wouldn't miss as much time on the floor.

You could have been terminated for doing that.

 

[ZombieGurl]

i almost always take my 2 breaks and a lunch and I always insure my team does too. almost every tl in my store takes their breaks too the only time i didnt was when i was flow tl

 

[babytrees]

time sometimes flies so my 15's sometimes disappear....but only recently. If I am working the fitting room I sit for at least fifteen at the end of night when no people or calls are coming in....sometimes I will do repacks then. I hate walking all the way to the opposite side of the store for my 15 but it's also a great time for a restroom break.

 

[mrknownothing]

That's what I don't understand. How can a sr TL be closing LOD, when they have to take a lunch?

One of my SrTLs had to close alone once a week for the longest time. He didn't even have a TL to cover for him.

How did he do it? Punch corrections.

 

[Retail Girl]

That's what I don't understand. How can a sr TL be closing LOD, when they have to take a lunch?

All of our SrTLs do closing LOD shifts on their own. They obviously can't leave the building and they leave their Walkie on to listen out for calls/issues. It's just a half hour and generally fine. Of course, the fact that they can't leave the building makes the entire thing illegal, and I expect Spot will one day be sued over it (and lose, badly) but until that day comes, that's how it will be.

As for me, I've been known to skip breaks when I haven't really had a choice. There are times, after fitting in all of the cashier and guest service breaks and lunches, that there simply is only one half hour slot left, and that works out to my lunch. Taking a break isn't possible...and occasionally it gets scheduled but squeezed out when cashiers take 20 (or more) minutes to take their break. There are also times when I manage to work it in, but the LOD asks me not to take it then since they are running huddle, or it is otherwise inconvenient to them to respond to the lanes. If that is the only time I have on the schedule, then that means I don't go. Or I will be planning to go, and we end up getting busy (or worse, need carts) and again, if I miss that slot, I'm out of luck.

The LODs make it incredibly clear that it isn't convenient for them for me to take breaks. I've been standing my ground a bit more on this, but it isn't always worth the stress. Or how about the night that my guest service person went home sick, and only the LOD and I knew guest services? Obviously my break wasn't happening that night, either.

Of course the LODs don't officially encourage this and will generally tell me I have to take my breaks, but their words, actions, and demeanor suggest otherwise. And since they are too busy with other stuff to notice, then I do what I need to do to keep things rolling for my team.

 

[Dave Johnson]

i remember a time where i never got a break... just a lunch that i was required to take on paper.. otherwise i had to get my stuff done and didnt have an extra half hour to waste... sad but true.... it happens all the time in my store...

 

[ZombieGurl]

even our etls sit down and have breaks... they all go to lunch together too

 

[oath2order]

I was a TL and there were occasions where I would punch out for lunch and then complete the paperwork-ey parts of my job so I wouldn't miss as much time on the floor.

You could have been terminated for doing that.

I guess pretty much all of my TLs are going to have to get term'd then.

 

[buck4acanuck]

Even though we have HR policing our breaks and lunches I don't know if they could be sued for lack of breaks. In my province the law states that you must take a 30-minute break (employer doesn't have to pay you for that break) for every 5 hours of work. That same law also says that while an employer can give you shorter breaks or "coffee breaks" they are not legally obligated to do so. You could not file a claim against an employer for not giving you a 'coffee break' but you could take action if they didn't give you a 30-minute break for every 5 hours of work. That same law also states if you were unionized and coffee breaks were apart of your collective agreement, that would be a different story.

I don't know what the laws are in other jurisdictions. I'm sure if you didn't get your proper breaks you could probably report it through Target-proper. But you likely wouldn't succeed outside of the company except if you didn't get your meal break.

 

[doxie71]

I always take my 1st break & obviously my lunch. But there are many times where I lose track of time and oops there goes that 2nd break.

 

[Barcode]

I was a TL and there were occasions where I would punch out for lunch and then complete the paperwork-ey parts of my job so I wouldn't miss as much time on the floor.

You could have been terminated for doing that.

I guess pretty much all of my TLs are going to have to get term'd then.

Hopefully none of them start to get performance out, that'd be a slam dunk CY@

 

[Life201]

I understand people wanting to work through their breaks in order to accomplish the unrealistic goals Target pulls out of their hats. Conscientious people feel discouraged when they cannot meet a goal even when the goal is ridiculous & impossible.

What I don't understand is why so many underpaid & under-appreciated employees can justify working FOR FREE when they know it sends a message to corporate that they can push people even harder than they already do. It's bad enough people are willing to work for no pay in order to benefit Target Corp. but in the long run, they are prolonging the time Target will be forced to schedule more hours!

Work for free & only Target benefits. Target officially frowns on people working during breaks but only when it becomes a legal liability to their corporation. Otherwise they are more than happy to have unpaid labor so they can show stockholders a higher profit.

What do you mean working for free? 15 minute breaks are on the clock, nobody at my store works on their lunch except salaried employees.

I don't take my breaks most of the time because I either have too much to do or because I don't feel like walking to the break room or cafe. I could take my 15 right then and there and chill but that isn't really possible with guests and ETLS walking by not knowing that you're on your break.

You said it yourself, "[You] have too much to do." And, I'm saying Target will never have to admit that their goals are impossible or unreasonable as long as people manage to finish the job.

If a person is using their 15 minutes (by working) in order to meet Target's unreasonable time goals, then of course they are cheating themselves to Target's advantage!

Why shouldn't people take their break & then work an extra 15 minutes on the clock to meet Target's goals? You are cheating yourself out of a break AND an extra 15 minutes. And even though 15 minutes is not much, it sure adds up to a great savings for Target when we multiply the 15 minutes by every employee who is willing to push themselves like that.

Why should Target rush to increase hours when they have people who are still (somehow) managing to finish the job? Lastly, every person who works during a break is also "succeeding" at the expense of others who do take their breaks and obviously cannot finish at the same hour the non-break taker did?

But please don't think I'm judging you because on occasion I've also pushed myself to donate my 15 minutes. And I do feel good about accomplishing the job BUT I hate myself for killing myself for a corporation that has no respect for their employees well being.

 

[tahu300]

You guys all make me chuckle. I hardly ever get a chance to take my break. It's not that I don't want my breaks (I definitely do), but I am a GSA and I don't have anyone available to cover my break at 8:45p when my store is packed and I have 3 cashiers and one reshopper. Nobody has ever said anything to me about taking my break and it has been over a year now that I haven't regularly taken breaks. I did get a break about 5 days ago and I was all giddy about it because I was so shocked I was getting an actual break. I don't take my breaks in the breakroom though because I don't like the noise (Trust me, after 7:30 hours at the front end, 5/6 days per week for 5 months will make you understand). I usually just log onto workbench and read the guest comments or read about random processes. Also someone was saying CA has strict break policies but that's where I am and nobody mentions it. Anyways, I get a break about once a week when there is a second GSTL/GSA in but that's about it. It doesn't really bother me as I don't really do anything on my breaks anyways. Also, I don't think the TLs at my store really get there breaks either. All TMs are told when to go on there breaks though.

 

[VibetasticSFTL]

As a Senior Team Leader closing the store by myself I am required to punch out for lunch, but listen for LOD calls. I don't ever take any 15, and work through my lunch most days. Most of my peers on the salesfloor forego their 15s as well. The GSTLs who have to be covered by the salesfloor team leaders however take very break they are entitled to and complain when we come up late to cover them. I'm sorry that I am pushing pulls, helping guests, getting phone calls, responding to your lanes, and doing midday zone!!!

 

[salesfloor10]

As a Senior Team Leader closing the store by myself I am required to punch out for lunch, but listen for LOD calls. I don't ever take any 15, and work through my lunch most days. Most of my peers on the salesfloor forego their 15s as well. The GSTLs who have to be covered by the salesfloor team leaders however take very break they are entitled to and complain when we come up late to cover them. I'm sorry that I am pushing pulls, helping guests, getting phone calls, responding to your lanes, and doing midday zone!!!

THIS!!!
Thank goodness TLs at my store don't have to cover gstl breaks at my store...*fingers crossed* this doesn't change!
I do the same thing when I have to be LOD and no one else is in the store. I've only had to actually get up from lunch and deal with stuff a few times as LOD.

 

[sher]

Most of the people in my store take their breaks, including TLs.

"I" don't have "too much to get done" because Target should've thought of that shit before deciding on how many hours they wanted to cut. I'm sorry, but I'm not forfeiting my 15 minutes off my feet (which are damn tired + my back aches) because the powers at be have stupid ass expectations of what can and should be done in x amount of time by x amount of people. Sure I'd like to get it all done, but hour cuts. If the leadership in my store thinks I'm 15 mins too slow, they just have to fire me, because I'm not skipping my break to make up for it.

I read, QuizUp, social network, look at job listings, listen to music (the right tune keeps/puts the day on the right track for me), text my friends etc etc during that break. I think the breaks help to lessen burnout. I've taken my break in a fitting room in the past before, though because I just couldn't be bothered with walking to the br

 

[POGguy]

There are days I don't get my second break just because of the workload. However there are also times where I may have a extended first break because we take breaks as a team and they don't always call back on time. In the end it probably doesn't balance out, but oh well. When I first started I almost felt pressured not to take a break because my coworkers skipped their last break, and I didn't wanna be that one person to take the break while everyone else is working.

However now I could careless. If I feel like my body wants the break, I take it. There are other days where I just want to get the work done and skip through it.

 

[GSTL SuperStar]

I was a TL and there were occasions where I would punch out for lunch and then complete the paperwork-ey parts of my job so I wouldn't miss as much time on the floor.

You could have been terminated for doing that.

I guess pretty much all of my TLs are going to have to get term'd then.

Hopefully none of them start to get performance out, that'd be a slam dunk CY@

YUP! A GSTL at my store got put on a final instantly for working on paperwork while on lunch. I do live in California though and the law on when, where, and how many breaks is CRAZY. Target gets fined like crazy and many team members in California get terminated for not taking their break or simply not taking them in time.