For many, lunch is an opportunity to slow down and take a mental break from the day. For some, it’s a chance to get even more work done. And for still others, it’s an important time for catching with your favourite web sites. Do you stop for lunch?
We’ve asked you before if you thought lunch breaks were overrated, and most of you thought that taking an actual break to eat was a good idea. We’ve showed you ways you can use your lunch breaks more effectively and we’ve even shared ways you can upgrade your packed lunch.
While eating lunch at your desk can feel like you’re getting more done, it might actually make you less productive. So, how about you?
Comments
12 responses to “Do You Take A Lunch Break?”
Whether it be to go up the road in the afternoon and pick up groceries for the evening, head up to the bank and the post office and run some errands, or catch up with a friend for a coffee for half an hour… I always manage to have a break, it might just not be for the purpose of a midday meal 🙂
sometimes if work is busy ill eat my lunch while on the computer doing work
I am legally required to take a nonpaid break of at least 30 minutes after 5 hours of continuous work. I believe most people are legally required to do the same.
Most people I know don’t work for 5 continuous hours!
As a shift worker I always take my allotted 30 minute break. I can’t leave the premises and am expected to return to work at a moments notice if needed, I’m still entitled to finish my break after the department calms down again, so I always do get a lunch break.
I take about 5 minutes to purchase or prepare my lunch, and that is about it, I generally eat at my desk and catch up on any work that needs doing and make notes for jobs that I plan to do after I finish eating.
Every day when possible. My hours are quite flexible, but I just have to have at
least 30 mins every day. I usually walk for 30 mins eating a sandwich
Never. I am in an industry where real work gets done, the amount of which is almost directly proportional to the time spent, so the whole loss of productivity argument doesn’t float.
What industry is that?
I open the factory at 7am.
Somewhere between 9 and 10am I take a 20 minute break. Then its right through until somewhere between 4 and 5pm.
I don’t always remember take a break to eat lunch (yes, very bad on so many levels), but when I do I always, always, always eat away from my desk, either in the kitchen or, better still, away from the office premises altogether.
Why?
Mindfulness: eating while pottering around the internet or, heaven forbid, just continuing to work doesn’t make for mindful eating. It also means you’re not getting a genuine break: from sitting at a desk or from work itself.
Hygiene: even the most careful eater accumulates a lot of crumbs and crap eating at their desk. Yuck.
Courtesy: if you’re in any kind of communal office space then eating at your desk subjects your neighbours to: food smells and eating noises, both very distracting. Not everyone is taking a lunch break at the exact same time and your neighbour may be trying to focus on work so they can get away for their own lunch break.
Physical health: getting up and away from one’s desk just makes sense: you change your posture, you have to walk somewhere (most likely) and you’re moving around for a bit. Having lunch at your desk just means more continuous sitting. (And take a look at the posture of someone who’s surfing the net while eating. Not pretty.)
Psychological health: a change of environment is as rejuvenating as the actual food and pausing from work. Even if you adore your work and your colleagues, it’s good to get out of the office for 15 to 30 minutes in the middle of the day.
Vitamin D: especially during winter, when my commute may be in semi-darkness, getting outside for lunch means I get some sunshine.
I will often go and read for a while – outside if it’s nice, or in a quiet room otherwise. However, if I’m in the middle of something and on a roll, I’ll just eat at my desk.