Apparently, over a quarter of British workers claim they're far too busy to leave the office for lunch.According to a new survey (quoted in Management Today) 28% of British workers fail to leave the office all day. Half of the office prisoners skip lunch too. It’s suggested that this is due to two factors: heavier workloads, and fears about job security. Apparently the recession is leading to businesses trying to take on more work without expanding their workforce. And employees are too concerned about losing their job to protest about the extra workload, so are working through their lunch hours instead.
It’s estimated (although the HR Case Studies editorial team is not convinced that there’s any real evidence here) that this lack of breaks is contributing over 45m hours of unpaid labour every week
- Should companies encourage employees to take a formal break for lunch?
- What other initiatives are organisations taking to look after the well-being of employees?
- What factors would companies take into consideration when, for instance, deciding whether or not to introduce a staff restaurant?
- Are employees who take a formal break at lunchtime likely to be more or less productive than their office-bound colleagues?
Just logged onto the blog whilst having my lunch at my desk. So whilst there are some advantages of lunching in front of the screen, I do think that getting away from your desk and having that mental break is beneficial for the soul and helps you face the afternoon. Go out and get some fresh air, find a bit of green space, talk to a loved one, decide what you’re having for tea, plan your next vacation – whatever you fancy. Then go back in and hit that keyboard.
ReplyDeleteEBTG
EBTG:
ReplyDeleteI hope that you cleaned the crumbs from your keyboard after lunch! You'll have the IT team on your case if you're not careful!