Breakroom Pet Peeves

[DesiDani]

What are your breakroom or break time pet peeves? I bet stealing people's food is on top, but there is way more. I'll give mine to start:

1. There are a few chairs, to begin with, in the tiny breakroom. Your Target backpack DOES NOT require a chair. Put it on the floor or leave it in the car.

2. Headphones were invented I think in the 80s. I don't want to listen to your phone calls, music, or Youtube videos. Read or buy some headphones for 99 cents.

3. If you see me with my headphones or my face in a book that is a clear clue.

[JBudd, MSN]

sorry! wrong thread!

[Davey Do]

“I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet'.--Arabic Proverb”

[CommunityRNBSN, BSN, RN]

5 hours ago, By-a-thred, RN said:

You guys are funny. I've had less than a dozen "lunch breaks" in the last +25 years. 

God, you are so dedicated to your patients. You’re clearly a superior nurse to me. I’m ashamed to admit that I leave on time, too, almost every day, to go home to my family.  But thank you for reminding us how a REAL nurse should act. Martyrdom all the way! 

[SmilingBluEyes]

Even IF the bathroom is in/close to the breakroom, do NOT take a crap in there. NO ONE wants to smell crap when they are trying to eat. Find another toilet. On that note, do not crop dust (fart) in the breakroom or the med room. Find another location to let your nasty farts fly. (unreal that  people do this). Change your damn diet or get some beano if you fart all the time. I knew a nurse who farted in occupied patient rooms, unbelievable. The complaints we got on that one! I have worked with some real pigs in my career.

One HUGE pet peeve I once had was a coworker who actually brushed her teeth in our breakroom sink. I was absolutely stunned and disgusted. I told her that is what bathrooms are for. Another piggy thing to do.

Please for the love of God---- do NOT heat fish/seafood or other stinky damn food, or burn popcorn in the microwave. Save the fish for home. And if you can't cook popcorn w/o burning it, just don't.  Don't do it.

Please, NO Maury Povich or Springer on the TV. We actually blocked that channel cause the noisesome idiocy drove most of us nuts.

Date/remove your own stinking food, for the love all that is holy. Rotting broccoli makes the whole place smell like an un-airconditioned morgue. Be like a good camper, pack it in and pack it out going home.

I don't always get breaks but when I do the above being avoided is greatly appreciated.

 

[SmilingBluEyes]

17 hours ago, CommunityRNBSN said:

My clinic has a very large breakroom that, if it were full, would seat about 50 people.  It has a big-screen television which is ALWAYS tuned to the Steve Wilkos show-- have you seen this horrible thing?  It's families accusing one another of child molestation, generally, or other horrible crimes, publicly in front of a live audience.  He gives them lie-detector tests and then they jump around and scream and cry.  When I was a child, "Jerry Springer" was on TV, and this is in that same genre.  It's awwwwful.

Block the channel. That is what it took in our workplace where ONE person insisted on watching this trash. It was unbelievably unnerving and annoying to see/hear this nonsense in what is supposed to be a time to relax just a bit. Block that channel for good. Or make a rule that such shows are not allowed. We had a tech that used to turn on Springer in the patient waiting room and run out there and "catch up" (how she had time who knows). The complaints we got from our understandably-upset patients were pretty vehement. We blocked it there, too. No more Springer/Maury/Wilkos any more. What a huge improvement.

[SmilingBluEyes]

8 hours ago, By-a-thred, RN said:

You guys are funny. I've had less than a dozen "lunch breaks" in the last +25 years. 

Good on you. I take mine whenever possible. My health is just as important as that of the patients I am dedicated to caring for.

[amoLucia]

9 hours ago, JBudd said:

Assisting an ENT treating a lady with sinus infections, admitted to a med-surg bed.  He simply took an 18 gauge needle, went up the nare and just pushed it through the nasal bones and drained the left maxiallary sinus into an emesis basin.  The crunch of the bones still makes me shiver, while watching a river of green pus pour out. Lady felt much better.

JB - I think you meant to post this in the 'grossest' post. Gotta admit, this was a nasty one. ;))

[SmilingBluEyes]

On 5/7/2021 at 5:51 AM, DesiDani said:

Guilty! Don't get mad cause I'm enjoying my sun chips. Want some?

Don't mind if I do. You chew with your mouth closed, we have no issues. We had a doctor who used to eat in our breakrom while on the computer and open-mouth chew/spittle and get food ALL OVER the computer (it was OUR laptop by the way) and Lord have mercey, he made the worst noises I ever heard. My dogs eat more politely and that is the truth. I was appalled at this educated professional eating this way and lost my appetite. I guess it's good for my fat waistline however.

[SmilingBluEyes]

21 hours ago, Sour Lemon said:

What drives me crazy are people who treat the break room like a Holiday Inn. They grab some pillows and blankets and turn off all the lights to nap.

I have no problem with people who nap on their breaks, and I like to keep to myself while I'm on break, but I hate feeling obligated to eat lunch in complete silence and darkness. To add insult, the sleepers are sometimes still there when it's time for me to leave ...so were they even on "break" to begin with? Probably not.

Most of the other things people have mentioned bother me, too. I try to break alone anytime I can.

We had a physician who used to creep over to our breakroom, lay on the nasty couch in there and sleep. DURING LUNCH TIME. So the rest of us had to eat in silence and darkness. Well I am a butthead. I turned on the lights, microwave and began eating. he had his own office; he could nap in there. Why the ONLY place we have to eat? Doctors have offices and their own (well stocked) lounge. Stay out of our break room.  How inconsiderate can one be? So from that point on, if it was lunch time, the lights came on and I ate. The other nurses were scared to disturb him. Not me.

[amoLucia]

It'd be a cold day in h*ll  I'd tolerate that doc's behavior for the staff breakroom!

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

14 hours ago, By-a-thred, RN said:

You guys are funny. I've had less than a dozen "lunch breaks" in the last +25 years. 

Well, then you worked at crappy institutions.  I couldn't stay at a facility where I didn't ever get a break.

1 hour ago, SmilingBluEyes said:

We had a physician who used to creep over to our breakroom, lay on the nasty couch in there and sleep. DURING LUNCH TIME. So the rest of us had to eat in silence and darkness. Well I am a butthead. I turned on the lights, microwave and began eating. he had his own office; he could nap in there. Why the ONLY place we have to eat? Doctors have offices and their own (well stocked) lounge. Stay out of our break room.  How inconsiderate can one be? So from that point on, if it was lunch time, the lights came on and I ate. The other nurses were scared to disturb him. Not me.

That's so bizarre that he would rather sleep out in the open in a random break room than in the privacy of his office!  Good on you for not caving to that nonsense.

[SmilingBluEyes]

5 minutes ago, LibraSunCNM said:

Well, then you worked at crappy institutions.  I couldn't stay at a facility where I didn't ever get a break.

That's so bizarre that he would rather sleep out in the open in a random break room than in the privacy of his office!  Good on you for not caving to that nonsense.

I can't comprehend it at all. The noise around and being interrupted by (normal) staff moving about the room, why the HELL nap in there?!  I never ever understood it. I did not care if I peeved him off; I turned on all the lights and made all the noise and ate all the food. LOL!