A study of 2,000 employees has found that more than a third now eat at least one meal at their desk each day, while one in six tucks into two meals a
day.
These days, it’s not uncommon tomget to the office to the smell of toast, or porridge and its become the norm. According to the survey, women in particular favoured eating breakfast at work, over male colleagues, with one in three saying they regularly ate at their desk compared to one in five men.
But it’s not always because it seems easier – in fact, the survey found that one in 10 of those surveyed said their employer expected them to be at their desk at all times – even when eating. Further compounding the issue – one in five employees said they would draw attention to themselves if they popped out to eat and one in 30 people claimed they even risked getting the sack if they didn’t eat at their desk.
The growing phenomenon of eating in the workplace – dubbed ‘deskfest-ing’ by researchers – means that more than one in four employees now regularly eats breakfast at their desk, six out of 10 lunch there, and one in 20 even sits down to an evening meal surrounded by their work.
Taking a ‘rest break’ at work is important – for one thing, doing several hours of work without any kind of break will start to have a negative impact on you after a while.
If you feel that you are being pressured or bullied into not taking a lunch break, or feel you have far too much work to do to justify taking one then speak with your line manager or HR adviser – don’t suffer in silence.
