Gordon Gecko may have been right when he said “lunch is for wimps”. In a recent BBC article it was reported that only one in six workers takes a regular lunch break. The credit crunch has exacerbated the effects of this culture and the study shows that breaks are getting even shorter as redundancy tolls mount up. The research which was carried out by human resources firm Chiumento found that only 16% of employees regularly take a “proper” lunch break. But…

Andrew Hill, who helped conduct the study, says “Employees are struggling to keep on top of to-do lists and think the answer is to work harder, eating a sandwich at their desk as opposed to taking a full lunch break, and also not having sufficient breaks during the rest of the day. But these breaks are essential for staff to perform at their best and cope with the daily pressures of work. Managers should be encouraging staff to take lunch breaks – their performance, and ultimately the business, may suffer otherwise.” Sure boss.

Is lunch for wimps or is it really for those tough enough to ignore the ‘be there to be seen’ culture?