Besides the fact that it is not healthy, you also work many more hours than intended.
Eating something quickly behind your laptop often seems like the easiest option when you’re busy. If this happens occasionally there is nothing wrong, but before you know it you are doing it every day. Besides the fact that it is not healthy, you also work many more hours than intended.
Feeling pressure
We just mentioned that it is sometimes so busy that continuing to work seems a better option than taking a lunch break, but in reality most people skip the beloved lunch break for a completely different reason. Workthere research among Britons shows that employees between the ages of 25 and 34 most often skip their lunch break. Why do they skip the break? Apparently, respondents feel pressured by their boss to continue working during their lunch break. This feeling appears to be least present among 55 and 64 year olds. They skipped their breaks twice as often as younger employees.
Importance of a break
Skipping that break is of course not a good development. Cal Lee, global head of Workthere, also finds it remarkable. “It’s interesting to see how many office workers choose to significantly shorten their lunch break or skip it altogether, despite the fact that the benefits to employees and businesses of a good lunch break are clear every day,” he tells Refinery29.
According to Lee, companies should adapt their space to make the lunch break more attractive. Especially now that many are (partly) going back to the office. “Something as simple as a nice, clean kitchen that’s separate from the work area puts people in the mood to take a real break.”
Unpaid days
The research was conducted in the United Kingdom, but in the Netherlands we can also imagine that a large number of people sometimes skip their break. Do you skip your 30 minute break half the time and work 5 days a week? This then equates to 75 minutes (!) of unpaid work per week.
We work approximately 46 weeks a year (that’s minus our vacation days and a number of public holidays). Do you skip half your breaks in the 46 weeks? Then you perform 57.5 hours of extra unpaid work, which amounts to 7.1 days. In other words: more than a whole week! Ouch.
