Let’s face it. Spending at least eight hours five days a week at work makes you cherish that daily free time: lunch. While dealing with the numerous office tasks and stresses, you look forward to that midday one-hour break to eat leisurely, stretch your legs or run some personal errands.

But what happens when your work intrudes on this personal time in the form of working lunches set by your boss?

Ria, a sales coordinator in a publishing company confides that she is not too keen on working lunches. “These meetings are usually held in pricey restaurants and my budget is pretty small. Also, lunchtime is the only time I get to relax during the entire workday. Plus, I know that I'm not paid for that lunch hour so why should I have to work during it?”

In this week’s discussions, JobStreet.com’s Career Coaches consider the pros and cons of working lunches.

To Raul Borjal of First Asia Venture Capital, it may be a valid concern that you should take up with your boss. He shares, “Technically, lunchtime is already your personal time. A request for your time during lunch-break may be reasonable during times of great urgency. But any working lunch to which you agree, especially if it is held in a pricey restaurant, should be at company's expense. If you have to work at lunchtime, it is just fair that the company should at least pay for your meal.”

Melle Roxas-Pitalgo of iDnet Consulting recommends evaluating the importance of attending these lunches to one’s work, “If it's yes, then there you go. If not, then just explain your side, I'm sure people will understand.”

Danny Pancho of Edward Keller Philippines says that working lunches are fine as long as they are not done often and are paid for by the company. Working lunches sometimes provide managers a way to show appreciation for their staff. For those who are expected to split the bill or go dutch during these lunches, he advises against spending beyond one’s budget, “The best was to approach this is to be honest and tell the one who organizes such lunch meetings that you could not afford them anymore. Who knows, you may even end up getting a raise so you could afford the lunch meetings?”

For those who feel put upon when asked to extend their working time to lunch breaks, he has this gentle reminder: “Don't tell me that during the full eight hours that you are in the office, you are only truly working for the company and not attending to some small personal matters or business such as personal phone calls, text messages, etc.. If you total the time you spend on these personal matters, I'm sure they would be more than the lunch hour you would spend working!”

Any relationship requires a certain amount of give-and-take. On the matter of working lunches, assess what benefits you can reap in investing some of your time and resources. A relaxed atmosphere and more open and productive discussions with your colleagues might be worth it.