'I got revenge on my boss for scheduling meetings during my lunch hour'

A man has been praised for his brilliant petty revenge against his boss who persistently arranged meetings during his lunch break.

Thoroughly fed up, he resolved to give his superior a masterclass in time management - and it proved absolutely effective.

Writing on Reddit, he explained: "I used to take my lunch break at the same time every day - 12 to 1. I don't eat breakfast (just coffee and lots of water) so my lunch is essential and I can't just skip it. My calendar was blocked, but my boss (newly promoted, power-tripping) started scheduling meetings right in the middle of it.

"The first couple times, I let it slide. Figured maybe it was urgent. But then it became a pattern. I pushed back and reminded him that it was during my break, and he said, "Well, we all have to make sacrifices sometimes."

Armed with this attitude, he ensured he had a generous portion of spaghetti and meatballs prepared for his lunchtime meeting - deliberately consuming it on camera with his microphone switched on.

He revealed: "[I was] slurping and chewing, occasionally gave thumbs up while mid-bite. Few days later it repeated so I brought sticky wings. Last week on Thursday it happened again, glad I still had my pizza."

Annoyed, his boss asked him whether it was necessary for him to eat during their meeting - and he came out with a one-liner to put him in his place.

He said: "I smiled and said, 'We all have to make sacrifices sometimes'. It's Friday today. We didn't have any meetings during my lunch hours this week."

Commenting on his post, one user said: "I'm glad you didn't let him step all over you like that. It's great that he finally backed down for once on scheduling a meeting during your break."

Another user added: "Love it! I took over a new org a few years back. Every meeting was 7-8 am. I explained I couldn't do that for my kids' school drop-off. The response I got was 'figure it out'.

"So every single meeting I scheduled was 5-6 pm. When people complained, my response was 'figure it out'.

"Suddenly, all morning meetings moved to a reasonable time. After another week to make my point, I moved mine as well."

A third user said: "Damn, I got my lunch blocked off. Anyone (including my boss) schedules a meeting I'm declining it.

"If it is truly an emergency, Ill help, but lack of planning/awareness isn't my problem. I did get 'coached' for telling a project manager to be better at their job if the only time he can find everyone to meet is over lunch. I lean into being the grumpy old man at work."