<p>The cafeteria that is closing is a small branch cafeteria with a limited selection of food. The main cafeteria in the other building, which will remain open, has many more choices. I have never been there (obviously), but many people from our building go there every day. They buy food to go, bring it back, and eat it at their desks. The process of walking to and from the cafeteria and buying food typically uses up their full 30 minutes, even though they walk as fast as possible. Management looks the other way about them eating at their desks after the 30 minutes are up (perhaps because management is doing the same thing).</p>
<p>If it takes other people 30 minutes to do it, it would take me longer. That’s why I figured that I could not manage unless I had an extra 15 minutes. </p>
<p>But as younghoss points out, I have another option – bringing lunch – and I don’t believe that I qualify as disabled. I’m embarrassed now that I even thought of asking for a special favor and drawing attention to myself in that way. I really don’t know what I was thinking about when I started this thread.</p>
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<p>Any job I would get could easily be gone tomorrow. I work in a field where there’s an oversupply of well-qualified people and an undersupply of jobs.</p>
<p>You are perfectly within reason to want extra time to go to the cafeteria. The cafeteria is a benefit for ALL employees, not just for people who could walk fast. Why should other employees have the benefit of not having to prepare lunch everyday and enjoy subsidized food, but not Marian. If I were the supervisor, I would think in such terms.</p>
<p>As far as how replaceable Marian is…Ever if there is an oversupply of well-qualified people, it is still a pain to replace any experienced employee. I can assure you that no manager wants to go through the process of firing 50 something female worker unless it is absolutely necessary, especially when she is an excellent worker. Any time a new employee comes onboard, there is lost time for training, AND there is a chance that new employee may not work out. </p>
<p>Marian - out of curiosity, how many employees have been let go in the year for cause?</p>
<p>Wow, I’m just flabbergasted, I had no idea how lucky I’ve been with the people I worked for. I wouldn’t have hesitated to ask for some flexibility from any of them. I like Dad<em>of</em>3’s suggestion to put the question to the supervisor instead of asking for accommodations.</p>
<p>I echo oldfort- this is not a fire-able, even questionable offense. It is a PAIN to interview, hire and train someone new. Unless someone is really out there incompetent, I just can’t see her being let go for asking a question. </p>
<p>Not to mention - over 40 is a protected class and trust me, employers know this. All she has to do if fired is call dept of labor and claim she was fired for being over 40. And if she gets turned down for reasonable accommodations she could have a case. However, it’s really hard to prove, but it takes time and energy to deal with these claims.</p>
<p>Now of course she doesn’t want to make a big deal out of this and is willing to not speak up. I get people don’t act rationally sometimes and don’t treat grown up employees as grown ups.</p>
<p>Marian, I’m sure you’ll find there are lots of solutions to use throughout a workweek. Bring your lunch one or two days a week. Ask buddies to buy for you, and maybe get to work early or late to make up that time differtial on another day. It really doesn’t sound like you need “accommodations” (as in 504), but rather a relaxed environment in which to work where you can take a few extra minutes because of this change. Heck, you should just talk to your supervisor to get a sense of what he/she would say. You’re probably not the only person concerned about this change.</p>
<p>I would ask the manager, but in a problem-solving-together kind of way. As in " What would you suggest I do in this case… I would like to utilize the cafeteria, but my bad knees make it difficult for me to get there and back in the allocated time. What are my options?" A good manager will have some possible solutions, even if they are ones we have already mentioned. And if the MANAGER suggests it, then you know it is okay. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, and you will not get fired for asking manager to help you explore your options!</p>
<p>“I’m embarrassed now that I even thought of asking for a special favor and drawing attention to myself in that way. I really don’t know what I was thinking about when I started this thread.”</p>
<p>Perhaps you were thinking that starting work a little earlier, or staying a little later to make up for 15 minutes longer lunch break was a very reasonable request, and it is. As a boss, you or me wouldn’t think twice about granting someone this request (if we had it in our power to do so), in fact, we might even suggest it. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed about trying to problem solve a situation to make your life a little better, in a way that has no negative consequence to anyone. </p>
<p>I understand your reticence in asking, but maybe you can find a way to put it so it is the bosses idea.</p>
<p>I agree that it is a disability accommodation. Yes, you could eat at your desk, but socializing with your workmates at lunch is important for performance in the job itself. I assume you don’t eat alone in the cafeteria. I don’t know whether that would be a good selling point.</p>
<p>collegealum314: Yes, eating with our colleagues is not part of our lives. Everyone eats at their own desks, even the people who bring lunch to work. (They have nowhere else to sit.)</p>
<p>So I can’t use that as an excuse. But it was a good idea. :)</p>
<p>The point is not even that they would be dumb enough to fire her outright for asking, the point is that the next time there are layoffs, who goes and who stays?</p>
<p>Honestly, I think that a lot of people are very naive about the supposed rights of employees. Sure, you can CLAIM your rights, but you WILL be punished for it down the road. </p>
<p>IMNSHO, establishing a 30 minute lunch hour shows a complete lack of concern for the employees in the first place. Closing the satellite cafeteria without making some accomodation for those in the more far flung offices shows the same mindset. This company is not treating its people like valued professionals, it is treating them like widgets.</p>
<p>But it is certainly not alone.</p>
<p>Marian, you shouldn’t be embarrassed: you just made the mistake of thinking for a moment that your company’s management might be motivated by a little humanity and common sense.</p>
<p>The OP should look for another job elsewhere that is not so uncaring about the employees. Especially if business is bad enough that layoffs are likely in the near future.</p>
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<p>The mistake may be in having any loyalty to an employer that appears to show no loyalty at all to the employees.</p>
<p>I don’t see why we need to assume the worst. Having the cafeteria further away affects everyone. If no one asks management may not even have realized there is a problem.</p>
Where would such jobs be? Do they exist for low level employees? I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, and in this economic climate any that existed would be deeply endangered. I work for a “nice” company, make good money and have been promoted above my credentials, but those of us who don’t own the company never forget our place and never expect any loyalty or humanity. Which is why I so desperately want better for my kids.</p>
<p>I have to agree with zoosermom. I’m not likely to find anything better than my current job – not at 58 and with outdated skills.</p>
<p>And conditions at my current company are actually much better than at my previous job, where (1) my boss was difficult to get along with, (2) you had to go through two layers of management approval to get time off for things like doctor’s appointments, (3) there was a great deal of unplanned and unpaid overtime, (4) employees in my department were forbidden to talk to each other, and (5) management wouldn’t let me close my window blinds even though glare on the computer screen bothers me (they thought that having one set of blinds set differently from the others looked bad from the outside of the building).</p>
<p>Compared to that place, this one is paradise.</p>
<p>That does not mean that you will not be able to find a better place than the current one. You can afford to be more picky now since you currently have a job, as opposed to looking for a job after you have been laid off.</p>
<p>Previous posts indicate that you fear for your job even if you just ask for a cost-free accommondation that any reasonable manager would approve. That indicates that you believe that the manager is not reasonable, even if the current situation is better than the previous one.</p>
<p>Actually, she fears for her job because she is a 58-year old woman with outdated skills. That’s a good, realistic reason. And, she never said she hated her job and wanted to quit. This is about a cafeteria. It’s not a hill to die on IMHO.</p>
<p>CC conversations tend to ignore reality in favor of unicorns and rainbows.</p>