Mumbai founder pauses work for 1-hour 'picnic' with employees every day, shares why

Mumbai founder Kavya Karnatac described her company's daily one-hour office lunch as a non-negotiable picnic. Her LinkedIn post showed how shared meals and easy camaraderie help build connections beyond work.

In Short

• At 2 PM, Mumbai founder's 40-member team gathers together in one hall
• Employees pull chairs from everywhere, squeeze in, and make room
• Managers invite everyone to lunch first, pushing work aside briefly

A Mumbai-based founder shared how her company pauses everything for an hour every day, not for meetings or deadlines, but for a shared lunch that feels more like a picnic than office routine.

Kavya Karnatac, founder of KK Create, took to LinkedIn to talk about a workplace ritual she says is “non-negotiable” for her team.

In her post, she wrote, “Everyday we have a one-hour picnic at the office! And it is non-negotiable.” She explained that despite being a team of 40 people juggling different roles, deadlines, and daily chaos, everything came to a halt at 2 pm.

As the clock struck, employees gathered in a common space, pulling chairs from across the office, squeezing into corners, and even sitting on the floor, just to ensure no one eats alone.

“Because, no one eats alone at KK Create. There’s no hierarchy at that table,” she wrote, adding that managers and freshers often ended up sharing food from the same plate.

What stood out even more was the tone set by leadership. According to her, managers were usually the first to call everyone in, saying, “Aajao lunch karne, kaam baad mein karna.” (Come for lunch, work can wait.)

The hour-long break often stretched beyond its time limit, filled with home-cooked meals being passed around, inside jokes, impromptu games like mafia, and conversations that have little to do with work. “Some days, it doesn’t even feel like an office. It feels like a family sitting down for a meal,” she shared.

The post was accompanied by a photo of the team gathered together, eating and smiling, visibly capturing the informal, tightly-knit culture she described.

Take a look at the post here:

The post sparked thoughtful reactions online, with many users appreciating the emphasis on connection over constant productivity.

Some pointed out how rare it was to see workplaces where hierarchy disappeared so naturally, adding that shared meals could create a sense of equality and belonging. Others said that moments like these often mattered more than formal team-building exercises, as they allowed people to simply be themselves.

A few users also emphasised that such practices reflected a deeper mindset rather than just a “perk,” suggesting that when employees genuinely enjoyed each other’s company, collaboration became more organic and less forced.

While it may look like a simple shared meal, the idea struck a chord for what it represented, a conscious effort to build human connection in a work environment often dominated by targets and timelines.

- Ends