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Remote work can blur the boundary between flexible productivity and quietly reclaiming company time.

This Fortune 50 employee remains officially available for 40 hours while privately working considerably fewer.

Yet their goals, client responsibilities, and annual performance reviews continue suggesting that nothing important is being neglected.

Read on for the full story.

I take a very long lunch break in the middle of my workday.

This has been going on for 3 1/2 years now.

I work remotely at a very large fortune 50 company, Monday through Friday, for 40 hours a week.

At least those are the hours that I’m “on.“

Starting around noon every workday, I take a one and a half to two hour lunch break.

Nobody questions this.

I purposely block off my calendar with “busy work“ so no one questions what I’ve been doing.

I honestly cannot find enough hours in the week to be able to do half of the stuff that I need to be able to get done, because that’s just part of my job.

There is a ton of project management and follow up with various clients. But that’s just about everyone on my team.

For some reason, my boss has never questioned me or been suspicious of anything.

OP does more than take long lunch breaks.

My intuition tells me that he might do the same thing himself on his remote days, although he has a hybrid schedule.

And that’s not all.

I have taken vacations before during lighter project weeks, where a lot of communication isnt required between me and my team.

I took my laptop and logged on during mandatory meetings and then logged off right afterwards.

OP has no regrets.

I know there is a lot of talk out there by corporate CEOs saying return to the office is mandatory because of stuff like this, but I always hit my goals, I do everything that’s asked of me, and I exceed expectations every year during my performance review.

Honestly, this is the first time in my career where I feel like I have a “normal“ work/life balance.

I feel like this is what work really should be. 30-32 hours of core work, while enjoying life the way it should be enjoyed.

Some of the happiest moments of my life have been playing with my toddler son and watching him grow up during my lunch hour. Sorry, not sorry.

What this remote worker is doing isn’t exactly up and up, but it does sound like a healthy work life balance. If the boss hasn’t noticed or complained, it sounds like there’s no harm done.

Let’s see what Reddit thinks about these vacations and long lunch breaks.

This person doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong.

This person works even less hours.

Another person encourages her to keep taking long lunches.

Wow. Spain sounds awesome.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a bank employee who immediately resigns after being denied a bonus.

More people probably take long lunches than she realizes.

OP blocks off lengthy daily lunches and occasionally works from vacations, yet consistently meets goals and exceeds performance expectations.

Commenters largely supported the results-based arrangement, with several admitting they work fewer hours or take similarly generous breaks.

Corporate pays for 40 hours, receives an award-winning 30-hour package, and somehow only the confession department detected the discrepancy.