How much coffee is a healthy amount for one person to drink?

As I quickly fell into my groove while working at FRH I began to notice that workplace expectations were different than what I thought was normal. My coworkers took about a 10-minute break every hour or so stopping to get some coffee or tea, use the restroom, or check out social media. Everyone in my office took part in this sort of mini-break, and they staggered them throughout the day giving themselves a breather outside of lunch.

I think these breaks had a positive impact on my coworkers by lifting their moods and not allowing them to get too stressed out about their work. It also gave my office the chance to bond over social media by discussing television shows and the latest news stories.

Beverage culture was weirdly also a thing in my office. Almost every morning I would walk into work with a bottle of Diet Coke and a reusable water bottle full of water, and my coworkers were astounded that I drank so much soda. They commented on the same thing to my American coworker when he had a soda at lunch. However, they continued to drink coffee well into the afternoon. Over the course of one day, I saw my coworker replenish his coffee mug 7 times. That is a crazy amount of coffee to me, but maybe it’s a cultural thing.

Our lunch break was also very lax. Jordi, my supervisor, allowed me to have about an hour-long break which I would spend eating delicious sandwiches and chatting with friends. Sometimes these breaks would extend slightly longer than an hour, but the tardiness wasn’t even considered and was never an issue like it might be in some American workplaces. In fact, the room where we ate lunch in my office did not even have a working clock to help mark when lunch should be over. I was also strongly encouraged to enjoy my lunch break and would be criticized for eating too quickly. It was an interesting experience to have the lunchtime be such a valued moment of relaxation as opposed to a quick break between tasks. This is super interesting because a Tork survey reported that nearly 20% of North American workers worry their bosses won’t think they are hardworking if they take regular lunch breaks, while 13% worry their co-workers will judge them.

Despite the breaks the expectations for quantity and quality of work to be produced was no different than what I would expect. We had the same process and expectations with more freedom to work so we could make the most of each day. At some points when work was slow, I would sometimes work on homework, but on the other hand I sometimes did work at nights and online over the weekend. Like all things work and breaks need to be balanced to give the most benefit. I also did not get the full experience of working the 5-day week because I only worked Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM. However, I did notice that my office closed an hour earlier on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and comparing those days to later in the week I felt that my coworkers had more energy.

Overall in my experience at FRH the Brussels workplace is less strict on controlling worker’s time and gives more breaks. In addition, the dress code was laxer compared to American jobs and the timing for lunches and breaks was not really monitored. However, despite the working conditions being slightly different our work still had to be completed on time and properly. This was a unique office environment not only because of the relaxed environment but the office was small with only 4 desks allowing my office to become very close. This may mean somethings were allowed as we became more friendly that may not be overlooked in larger offices. The level of stress in my Brussels workspace was lower than expected due to fewer restraints when compared to American workplaces despite similar expectations on the quality and output of work produced. I was also taught more about the importance of a delicious and well-socialized lunch.