How long do you take for lunch?
I know, I know: You don't have time.
If you do, it's a cup of yogurt or a salad in a plastic container at your desk, while catching up on emails, or an energy bar on the run to your next meeting. When's the last time you enjoyed a an actual lunch hour?
Several weeks ago, my organization, The Energy Project, conducted a poll on the Huffington Post about the way we're working. Some 60 per cent reported taking twenty minutes or less each day for lunch. Almost 20 per cent took less than 10 minutes. One quarter never leave their desks at all.
The result is that we're spending long days hunched over our computers, becoming more and more fatigued, distracted and irritable as the day wears on.
It's not good for us, and it's not good for our employers.
Here's the antidote: Take Back Your Lunch. In the best of worlds, that's something we all ought to do every day. At the very least, I want to urge you to take back your lunch on Wednesday, and then on every Wednesday this summer, wherever you are.
To find out where people will be gathering- or if you'd like to organize a Take Back Your Lunch Meetup in your city or town -- go here for more information:
How crazy is it that we've gotten to a point where going out for lunch qualifies as a virtual act of rebellion?
Far too many of us have bought into the belief that the best way to keep up with demand is to be working all the time.
But human beings are not designed to run like computers, at high speeds, continuously, for long periods of time. We're rhythmic beings, and we operate best when we pulse between spending and intermittently renewing energy.
Instead, we're systematically running ourselves down. Just listen to what people we interviewed have to say about how they view their workdays -- and their lunch hours:
The key to productivity isn't the number of hours you invest, it's what you're able to accomplish during the hours we're working. When you work continuously, you get more fatigued and less productive as the day wears on. The quality of your work also suffers.
Getting outside for lunch compels you to move physically, and it's a way to expose yourself to natural sunlight, which is a lot better for you than florescent lights and computer screens.
Taking back your lunch is also a way to relax, let go of whatever stresses have accumulated during the morning, and recharge. It's an opportunity to have a little time for yourself, or to spend it with a friend or a colleague.
Giving yourself time for lunch makes it possible to savor what you're eating, instead of simply gobbling it down. Food is not simply sustenance, it's meant to be enjoyed.
At the most practical level, when you take lunch, the likelihood is you'll return to work more energized, more focused and more productive in the afternoon. That's especially true if you leave your Blackberry or your iPhone at the office -- a whole other level of liberation.
Wherever you live, make lunch happen this Wednesday. And if you work in New York City, join me and make lunch a happening. I'm headed to Madison Square Park, starting at noon on Wednesday, to help kick off the movement.
Take Back Your Lunch. It's the first step in taking back your life.
Follow Tony Schwartz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/TonySchwartz
The problem is those who go OUT for lunch. Basically, they shop, run personal errands, take care of personal business for an hour, stop and get lunch on their way back, then sit at their desk and eat for the next thirty minutes! That's an hour and a half lunch! When was the one hour lunch changed?
Corporations have choked wages to the point where it takes two good incomes to have the same quality of life that one income got us a generation ago. And the layoff culture has everyone so fearful that we put up with this abuse to avoid going on unemployement so Orrin Hatch can kick us around.
In many ways we've returned to the end of the 19th century when the purpose of the worker was to enrich their betters and to ensure the Robber Barons' feet wouldn't have to touch the ground.
Then as now, the Republicans are on the wrong side of history with their slavish devotion to their corporate gods. The backlash of Americans against BP, Wall Street, Banks is part of that general feeling that we are being screwed by the corporations. A reconning is inevitable.
The corporations have won in this country.
My last office job had lunch as a concept. Noon was when our boss scheduled meetings and we were welcome to bring our lunches along. Noon was also when she would rush into your desk with a few extra tasks that need immediate attention. In 2 years, I might have actually left the building a dozen times for lunch but I was docked 1/2 an hour a day on my pay for the lunch I didn't take. To have taken a regular lunch away from my desk would have meant being first in line when they did yet another job reduction which added to the work load of everyone still there.
It's a shame that unions have been so maligned in today's society because a city with strong unions tends to have non-unionized businesses that treat employees much better to compete.
Thank you for this. At my old company we would sit for an hour to an hour and a half at a large conference room table. We knew that it was exceptional and that we were very lucky. Here's the thing. We were also incredibly productive. Not only did we have better, more productive afternoons. Being at that table and sharing our personal lives meant that we collaborated much better. We trusted one another, we respected one another, and we had a whole lot less conflict in our work. Now, if companies could measure the added productivity on better teamwork, I'm sure they would encourage the break!
Claire Steichen
www.clearstrategycoaching.com
So I guess in reality I don't work but I do stay at my desk. Hell if the phone rings or I get emails, unless they are of the most urgent, they have to wait until after lunch.
Thanks - and even the work obsessed can be accommodated by some of your other suggestions. At our offices we have recesses. Our work can be intense, but when someone gets to a point where a break would not be disruptive, they can put their feet up, play games, post to the favorite blogs(!) - whatever. Some show up really early and leave accordingly. Others, just the opposite. There are business (retail) that have to control staff attendance much more than we, but I've been in some situations where good work production wasn't as dependent on rigidity as everyone thought. The least an employer can do is start talking to his/her employees. Get some feed-back, you'll be pleasantly surprised.
Should I take lunch away from desk that will be considered not putting the company first. Yes, they talk about quality of life and on paper I'm entitle to time off but the reality is that the people who actually do those things get let go.
The execs know about everything you have said about increased productivity, etc. but they have made a business decision that we will work many hours overtime without compensation. They get away with this because there are many people lined up waiting to take my job.
I have a mortgage to pay, I will work as they tell me to work because I don't want to be jobless.