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Mandatory lunch breaks?

Victoria Dmochowski

Does the future of work include mandatory (or strongly encouraged) lunch breaks?

A new People Management article by Dr Preethi Daniel discusses the impact of eating lunch at your desk on productivity. I've included a few quotes below:

'By skipping lunch or not getting the right lunch, you starve your brain and muscles of the key nutrients needed to function at peak level.'

'Lack of hydration and glucose as fuel means irritability, poor concentration and ultimately poor performance.'

'Providing access to fresh fruit or nuts to snack on instead is more likely to lead to a happy workforce.'

'Employers should encourage night workers to snack less and eat a balanced meal of lean protein and vegetables.'

'Neurones in the brain get tired and eating at the desk is not considered to be a good way to replenish cognitive stock.'

Parents
  • Ugh, that article is full of all sorts of sound bites that are not supported in nutritional research - big dinners are bad, breakfast most important meal of the day, starving the brain and muscles - none of that has sufficient and robust evidence. i don't think employers are at all qualified to be providing advice to staff as it's often really difficult to tell where the rubbish information is (taking any advice from Gwyneth Paltrow for example) .

    I agree that having regular breaks away from the desk throughout the day, including lunch are great ways of refreshing the brain which for me is the main take away that employer can be more pro active with.
  • in reply to Joanne O'Hagan

    Totally agree about the sound bitesJoanne

    'Providing access to fresh fruit or nuts to snack on instead is more likely to lead to a happy workforce.'

    "Instead" of what? snacks specifically designed by dieticians with the particular activity in mind? 12lbs of cold, salty porridge?

    "More likely than" what? sticking a pointed stick into people's biceps? Providing back massages every thursday afternoon at 14h37? Paying a basic salary of at least £103,056?

  • in reply to Ray
    Given that the CIPD - and many of its members - have for years endorsed the entirely unproven and clinically-suspect practice of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), there is no shortage of bulls*** psuedoscience already well invested into our professional territory.

    Given that we are now to focus on Evidence Based Practice (i.e. good, old-fashioned empiricism) perhaps we could start rolling this back along with the pseudoscience of nutritionists, chiropractors, homeopaths, acupuncturists and osteopaths*.

    *Yes, I know that some of these (chiropractic and acupuncture) are supported by limited evidence showing beneficial effects on a small set of conditions, but they still claim efficacy in a much wider range of conditions for which there is no empirical evidence.
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  • in reply to Ray
    Given that the CIPD - and many of its members - have for years endorsed the entirely unproven and clinically-suspect practice of Neuro-linguistic Programming (NLP), there is no shortage of bulls*** psuedoscience already well invested into our professional territory.

    Given that we are now to focus on Evidence Based Practice (i.e. good, old-fashioned empiricism) perhaps we could start rolling this back along with the pseudoscience of nutritionists, chiropractors, homeopaths, acupuncturists and osteopaths*.

    *Yes, I know that some of these (chiropractic and acupuncture) are supported by limited evidence showing beneficial effects on a small set of conditions, but they still claim efficacy in a much wider range of conditions for which there is no empirical evidence.
Children
  • in reply to Robey

    Our analysis of the lunch break shows that there are four ways to experience a lunch break and recover from work:

    • Psychological detachment: not thinking about work tasks on the lunch break.
    • Relaxation: physical or mental.
    • Control: being able to choose how to spend the lunch break.
    • Relatedness: feeling part of a group.

    It seems that psychological detachment is the least needed out of these four. Would you agree?

  • in reply to Robey
    Having worked for an osteopathic college for many years (previously, not now), I could engage with debate here but I fear it would have very little do with HR. However a couple of points just because I can't slide past without correcting the record a little - osteopaths and chiropractors are registered professions (so you have to be registered with the relevant body to practice in the UK) and the General Osteopathic Council and the General Chiropractic Council take action against any of their profession that make claims that breach the Advertising Standards Agency guidelines. The ASA guidelines are based on evidence that has been accepted, which sets out what each profession can state in their communications.