Breaks

You work hard. Take an unpaid break.

If you are working on Treefrog projects, Treefrog should be paying you. If you are doing anything else, Treefrog should not be paying you. This is true, irrelevant to your location (i.e. at Treefrog, at home, or in Oagadogo), your previous experience at other workplaces, or because of anything else you may have heard.

Meal Periods

Frogs are entitled to a half (0.5) hour, unpaid meal period. Meal periods are not paid for by Treefrog. It is best for your health if you take this time daily. This regular break time should be built into your standard schedule as agreed with your Pod Leader. Your standard meal break must not interrupt workflow or meetings so you may need to move it from time to time. Therefore, be sensitive in scheduling meal breaks accordingly.

External meetings, such as, client or networking meetings, where a meal is provided as part of the meeting, are considered to be the standard meal break.

You may choose to work through your lunch while at your desk and continue your work. In doing so, please note that this does not permit you leave a half hour earlier at the end of the day or be paid for your meal break because you worked through your lunch. You are entitled to take your lunch break so we want you to take it! By not taking an official break, you may reduce the hours you are physically at Treefrog. It is our recommendation that you take a break, regardless of how short it is, and stretch your legs. The option exists for your convenience and overall efficiency.

Meetings during lunch can count as “working time”, provided that the material covered during the meeting is exclusively work related. This is a great way to work on a collaborative team project, if you have one, without losing efficiency.

Having said all this, breaks are good for you.

Take breaks regularly!

Coffee Breaks

“Coffee” Breaks or any other kind of break are not a legal requirement. Treefrog does not standardize coffee breaks to two 15 minute breaks like most manufacturing companies. Frogs may take breaks for tea/coffee/smoking at his or her discretion based on his or her individual work schedules.

Washroom Breaks

Go pee. If it takes less than 5 minutes and your brain does not turn off, leave your clock running. If you stop to chat, make a phone call, study some art, or read a magazine, you are on your own time.

If your “pee break” requires 20-30 minutes of exertion, two things - we are not paying you during that time, and you should probably go see a doctor.

You do not need to put up your hand. If the break is not incredibly quick, you are paying for it, not the client or the rest of the Frogs.