Too Afraid to Eat Lunch?

A new survey undertaken by Tork, maker of approximately half the napkins used in the foodservice industry in the US, revealed that Millennials are three times more likely than the Baby Boomer generation to fear that they would be judged harshly for taking regular lunch breaks.

This “Take back the Lunch Break” survey found that many younger employees wanted longer and more regular lunch breaks but found that workplace demands and perceived stigma around leaving the office for lunch keep them chained to their desks, dribbling soup and dropping crumbs on their keyboards – or skipping food altogether!  While 37% of Millennials do not feel empowered to take a break, almost 90% say that taking these lunch breaks help them feel refreshed and more engaged and productive.  In fact, 16% said they would take a 10% pay cut so they could get away from their desk and eat a normal lunch outside of the office.

Joy Bauer, a leading health authority and host of NBC’s Health and Happiness show, believes these “sad desk lunches” make employees feel unhappy and unproductive.

"Choosing to eat a nutritious lunch is only part of the equation to living a healthy life at work," according to Bauer. "What you eat matters, but where you eat matters just as much.”

So the doggy bag takeaway for management empowers all employees (including Millennials) to take their lunch breaks, and encourage them to get out of their office space for a change of scenery and the reward will be happier, more engaged and productive employees.