Mandatory lunch breaks?

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
  • I'm a big advocate of staff getting away from their desks to have a break. I can't cite any evidence based reasoning but there a number of reasons why it seems to make sense:
    1 - It's hygienic - just pick up your keyboard right now, turn it upside down, and shake it. That's dirt. I don't want to add rotting food to that.
    2 - It's unsightly - people eating is never a spectator sport.
    3 - It's too tempting to carry on working - if we need a break, we need a break.
    Actually, only 3 reasons.
Reply
  • I'm a big advocate of staff getting away from their desks to have a break. I can't cite any evidence based reasoning but there a number of reasons why it seems to make sense:
    1 - It's hygienic - just pick up your keyboard right now, turn it upside down, and shake it. That's dirt. I don't want to add rotting food to that.
    2 - It's unsightly - people eating is never a spectator sport.
    3 - It's too tempting to carry on working - if we need a break, we need a break.
    Actually, only 3 reasons.
Children
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