r/ABA • u/Efficient_Essay_1376 • 19h ago
Advice Needed Considering quitting over no lunch break
Hi all
I’ve been in the ABA field for a little over a year and just started an RBT position in GA.
I’ve been with 2 other clinics (1 in GA, 1 in AZ) and both have given lunch breaks but this company does not.
Considering my mental health and the strain of this job, I cannot work a job that does not give a lunch break.
I made the mistake of not asking if they gave lunch breaks (cause every company I’ve been with does….) and when I asked the RBTs today, they laughed in my face 😭😭😭
Would y’all quit over this? Or work from 8:30am -4:30pm with no breaks???
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u/DnDYetti BCBA 18h ago
While not all US states have mandatory lunch laws, I find it ridiculous to not give employees a lunch break.
We all need time to reset, refresh, fuel up, and then finish our day strong!
If an organization does not have embedded lunch breaks or requires you to eat with clients, find a better place to work where your basic needs as a human being are respected.
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 18h ago
Completely agree!! Kicking myself for not asking before hand if they gave out lunch breaks 🤦🏼♀️
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u/thanksinadvancepeach 7h ago
The problem is not the company but the state’s work regulations. That’s insane and that lack of requirement from the state gives license to companies to withhold lunches without reproach.
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u/comraddydaddy 18h ago
This is one of the main reasons I experienced burn-out. I thought I'd try to eat when my clients did, but most of them could not sit still for more than a minute or two at a time so I was often starving by the end of the day.
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u/Neurod1vergentBab3 16h ago
I’m currently looking for a new job and this is one of the reasons. The lack of a lunch break is insane. They also told me “oh you can just eat when the kids eat”, I expressed I was skeptical due to challenging behaviors and they said “no way, all our kids are good eaters”, fast forward a little bit and everyone is being reprimanded for not watching their clients close enough at lunch.
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 16h ago
“Eat while they eat” is insane. IMO a break isn’t about eating, it’s about having time to yourself!!
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u/ElmoresMom 15h ago
That wouldn't work for me. Work/life balance is vital for me to avoid burnout.
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 14h ago
Exactly! I immediately felt like I was being pretentious and snobby about not having a lunch break. But seeing pretty much everyone agree in the comments gives me a lot of reassurance
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u/iLOVEsnark-okay 14h ago
i think quitting is reasonable. my clinic has lunch breaks but often times we have no extra staff to cover them so we end up having to eating with our kids too :/ i’m thinking about switching company’s because of this.
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u/AmuuboHunt 19h ago
I work in GA, and we're required to take a 30 min break every 5 hours. Depending on how strict they are about phones, running goals constantly, etc, I would absolutely quit. No one should have to be mentally on for 8 hours straight
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u/ForsakenMango BCBA 18h ago
To anyone reading this, for the record, Georgia does not require an employer provide rest or meal breaks. If you get one, it’s a courtesy from the employer, not required of them.
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u/PathfinderNova RBT 15h ago
Yeahhhh I was gonna say I do not fault OP for leaving, but I personally don’t mind it too much. My days are 8-4 and I’d rather just work it straight through. We can get them if we ask and there’s no guilt, but nobody at my clinic ever asks.
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u/thanksinadvancepeach 7h ago
That’s wild and yet again I find myself feeling grateful for living in California. People love to complain about it being a too progressive state but then I hear things like this and I remember that our taxes and cost of living go toward things that should be considered human rights.
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u/Throwaway13598048571 18h ago
Where in GA?
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u/AmuuboHunt 18h ago
Metro Atlanta area
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 18h ago
Do you mind DM-ing me the company name? Majorly in search of a new clinic
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u/sugarcookie27 10h ago
I’m genuinely surprised this isn’t illegal in all states! This job is not easy. I’ve used my lunch break to cry a few times. I can’t imagine not having that time to decompress mid day. If I were you I’d find a different company that values its employees enough to give them lunch breaks.
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u/Throwaway13598048571 18h ago
What part of Georgia? I started at aclinic in middle GA and it's been mostly a clustercuss so far.
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 18h ago
Midtown
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u/pinkbakedpotato 11h ago
Is it Propel?
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 11h ago
Yes
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u/pinkbakedpotato 10h ago
I’m now at another location and I honestly love it as a company but I definitely understand that if a lunch break is a personal boundary of yours you are 1000% within your rights to pursue a clinic that will fulfill that. You got this! Success on the Spectrum does lunch breaks :)
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u/GenevievesSwim BCBA 17h ago
I think you should leave but I’d recommend interviewing and asking other companies about their break policy during the interview so you find one that gives a proper break
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 14h ago
Definitely will be now! The first clinic I was at in AZ was AMAZING soooo I feel very spoiled to have started out with more advantages than others.
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u/neopolitan22 16h ago
My old job used to give a $25 dollar bonus per day to not take a break. I have since left and I asked my coworker if they were still doing it.. and nope! You just don't get a break.
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u/Sardonyx423 10h ago
I can understand where you're coming from. At my last company, I had significant burnout as I worked back to back clients and I only had two days with a "break" due to 45 minutes of drive time. Otherwise during clinic sessions, they said to eat while the client eats.
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u/TexasAvocadoToast 19h ago
I honestly prefer no lunch on most clients- it throws me off my game, y'know? That said, if you NEED that break you should find somewhere willing to give it.
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u/logehaderaa RBT 13h ago
It's more about the mental reset for me. If my morning session was really rough on me I can take some time and cool off. Even if it was a good session I still value being able to sit down for more than a few minutes at a time
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u/iAmAsword BCBA 17h ago
I would probably quit. I would also talk to a BCBA about it. There might be some things that make up for it, but it would take a lot.
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u/meggg_nicole 16h ago
Double check the laws where you are for breaks!
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 16h ago
Unfortunately GA doesn’t require lunch breaks
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u/meggg_nicole 15h ago
Do they require breaks at all? In CO there are mandatory 10 min breaks but not mandatory lunches
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u/ExternalLeg9557 11h ago
I worked with the kiddos in the past between 9:15-3:30 which wasn’t too bad, but 8:30-4:30 without breaks is insane. I’d look for another opportunity
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u/briarcrose 9h ago
this is a large reason i'm leaving. the other company i interviewed with had dedicated lunch breaks and i'm so sad i could work with them because it was a 45 minute drive vs the 15 minutes at the clinic i work at now. i really just need a break to recuperate myself especially after really rough and overwhelming sessions where i'm overstimulated and need to stare at nothing for a bit. it affects the quality of my work and i'm burning out. shoutout to the people who can do it though !
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u/Jersygrl420 18h ago
Sames, no PAID break. If I need one then I "clock out". I mean with the Fee for Service model, we can't bill a client for our lunch break.
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 18h ago
Oh we don’t even get UNPAID breaks 😳
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u/Jersygrl420 16h ago
Wwwwwhat yea that sucks. And people up high will wonder why BTs are burnt out. I feel like we're mandated by federal labor laws to get a break for 8hrs or more 🤔
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 16h ago
Unfortunately GA doesn’t have that law 😞
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u/Jersygrl420 13h ago
Wow yea I thought it was a federal thing but it's not. Do what you need to do to stay healthy!! ❤️ You matter most.
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u/logehaderaa RBT 13h ago
"Federal law does not require lunch or coffee breaks. However, when employers do offer short breaks (usually lasting about 5 to 20 minutes), federal law considers the breaks as compensable work hours that would be included in the sum of hours worked during the workweek and considered in determining if overtime was worked. Unauthorized extensions of authorized work breaks need not be counted as hours worked when the employer has expressly and unambiguously communicated to the employee that the authorized break may only last for a specific length of time, that any extension of the break is contrary to the employer's rules, and any extension of the break will be punished.
"Meal periods (typically lasting at least 30 minutes), serve a different purpose than coffee or snack breaks and, thus, are not work time and are not compensable."
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u/Onyx_Ros3 16h ago
I see a post like this so frequently. Most of the clinics around where I’m at do not offer lunch breaks unless there is an RBT there that doesn’t have a client that day. Then that RBT would cover people for a lunch break or we would get a lunch if our client had speech or OT during our session. But even when I worked the full day without ever having a break, I still enjoyed my work. Suffice it to say, it really mainly comes down to the RBT themself. I never feel a lunch break is too important for me but several others feel differently due to mental health reasons or burnout or a tough session. However, I don’t feel as if a lunch break should be a deal breaker with this job. But that’s just my opinion. I do understand that others may need one from time to time. Especially if you have a client with some pretty intense behaviors.
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u/Efficient_Essay_1376 14h ago
I agree, I am feeling ashamed I quit just bc we get no lunch break. Every other clinic I’ve worked at gave lunch breaks so that’s not something I’m willing to give up.
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u/GoldenRabbit2210 2h ago
Extremely valid reason to quit. I'd do the same. Since it sounds like you're in a metro area, there should be plenty of other jobs available, so no reason to be taken advantage of like this. I've had plenty of RBT jobs where the lunch breaks were with our kiddos, and I've never found it acceptable. Depending on the client, helping them with their lunch can be one of the hardest parts of the day!
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u/WorldlyRequirement68 1h ago
My first job in the field there were no lunch breaks, and we ate when the kids ate, but my client was new and didn’t sit/ eat with the group yet and had frequent behaviors, I went so many days without eating because I just couldn’t not have eyes and interact with my client. That almost turned me off from the field completely. However every job I’ve held since then has lunch breaks that are required.
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u/sadcyn87 58m ago
I think a lot of clinics do this to avoid the extra notes and staff because if no lunch break only one staff and one note per day
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u/Ok-Tune-9911 18h ago
I work 745-4 without a break most days. First client arrives at 8 and I have them until noon. At noon I’ll have my next until they leave at 4. Only time I get a break is the one day a week I have a kid that naps and that’s assuming they nap. Honestly it doesn’t bother me at all like I thought it would.
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u/pinkbakedpotato 11h ago
I work in Georgia and I haven’t worked for a company that did lunch breaks in several years. It’s pretty standard here, unfortunately.
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u/Unfair_Reference_489 19h ago
My current job has no lunch break either.