Question about eating meals at work

[Martim Silva]

Sometimes, I read posts from US languishites where they refer to "eating a sandwich" as lunch at work. I've also read 'Dilbert' cartoons where employees also seem to eat their meals inside the company building, which they refer to as 'brown bags'.

This puzzles me. Is that something you do on a regular basis? Is it even allowed by companies? Do you do it to pocket your entire meal allowance? Or have I failed to grasp something?

(In Portugal, it is a severe social stigma attached to eating at the workplace. The normal portuguese, no matter how low his/her salary is, *always* eats his/her lunch at a restaurant, even if it's a cheap fast food one; they would not be caught dead eating in their companies' premises. And I have noticed Spaniards do the same, too).

[Zanza]

Meal allowance?

[Grey Fox]

I eat lunch at work like 90% of my co-workers. I got 30mins to do it, going to a restaurant takes too much time.

Sometimes I even have it at my desks.

Also Meal allowance? Time or Money?

[Valmy]

I generally eat at my desk so I can keep on posting on Lan...er...working.  But yeah I have to pay out of my own pocket so I eat really cheap crap.

[merithyn]

I bring my lunch to work every day. In fact, I pack my breakfast, lunch, and two snacks every morning for what I eat while at the office. Today I had cranberry apple oatmeal, a banana, spinach sweet potato soup, a whole wheat roll, and microwave popcorn.

Around here, no one really pays much attention to what people are doing, though if someone ate out every day, it would likely bring on a conversation about how much money they must be spending and why do they not weigh 500 pounds. It is definitely considered a virtue around here to be frugal and healthy by bringing a packed lunch.

[Barrister]

There is a government cafeteria in the building so I do on occasion eat there, but the majority of the time I eat at my desk.  It's cheaper and healthier.

[Brazen]

Where I work there is no on-site restaurant and no food storage or preparation facilities so you either bring in a packed lunch, often a sandwich, or buy a hot or cold meal from a cafe or supermarket. There's nowhere other than your desk to eat. Besides, the less time you spend at lunch the less likely you are to need to work late or at home to meet your deadlines.

Eating out is expensive in London, so we may go out for a team lunch four times a year as a celebration.

What is this food allowance of which you speak?

The wide-eyed naivety of the question makes me wonder if Martim's trolling

[merithyn]

The wide-eyed naivety of the question makes me wonder if Martim's trolling

Probably just setting us up for him to tell us how uncivilized and uncouth we all are since we don't do as his nation does. 

[CountDeMoney]

Meal allowance?  From who, Mom?

[Zanza]

40 minutes of my clocked time at work is not counted against my contractual work time and meant for lunch.

The place I work has a "restaurant" that is subsidized by the company. That's where I eat my lunch most of the time. If I am in a hurry and need to meet a deadline, I might just grab a sandwich or so and eat it at my desk. Some colleagues always eat at their desks. I don't know if it is allowed per se, but it is certainly tolerated. Unless you spill something on your computer I guess.

I will also often have a croissant or so at my desk at work for breakfast while having a pot of coffee, reading my mails from the night before and organizing my day.

[CountDeMoney]

The wide-eyed naivety of the question makes me wonder if Martim's trolling

Probably just setting us up for him to tell us how uncivilized and uncouth we all are since we don't do as his nation does. 

They work, like, 3 hours a day over there, and I'm sure their lunch siesta is about 3 hours long or something.  Meal allowance must be from the government.

[Grey Fox]

I bring my lunch to work every day. In fact, I pack my breakfast, lunch, and two snacks every morning for what I eat while at the office. Today I had cranberry apple oatmeal, a banana, spinach sweet potato soup, a whole wheat roll, and microwave popcorn.

That's right, I forgot about Breakfast. I always have it at work. Today was an unheralded PB&Banana sandwich.

[Maladict]

I have breakfast at my desk, and I'll eat a few sandwiches there throughout the day. Usually I have lunch in the office restaurant, unless I'm too busy.
Unlike southern Europe, we don't take two hours off to have lunch in a restaurant and get wasted on pasta and wine, drunkenly drive back to the office and take a nap.   
And what's a meal allowance?

[Maximus]

The wide-eyed naivety of the question makes me wonder if Martim's trolling

Probably just setting us up for him to tell us how uncivilized and uncouth we all are since we don't do as his nation does. 

Precisely. He was trolling for:

Meal allowance?

At which time he could castigate all those who live in countries so uncivilized that "severe social stigma"  does not come from choosing for yourself how to eat lunch.

[Martim Silva]

Meal allowance?

Since all employees have to eat (at a restaurant), companies are forced by law to pay everybody a meal allowance ['subsídio de refeição', in portuguese] to cover the cost, or at least part of the cost, of a meal at a restaurant.

It is an extra added to the wage and not considered taxable income.

This is the law:

http://www.dgaep.gov.pt/stap/infoPage.cfm?objid=56233dbb-79d5-4613-bfcc-90d8a58b6ea4&KeepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=580&width=520

translate with google, or something.