Out to Lunch?

The benefits of a proper lunch
But although desk-dining can add valuable working minutes to a busy day, sacrificing your lunch hour can deprive you of a much-needed stress break. Anna Laird was a devoted desk-diner until she found it was affecting her work. ‘I used to skip lunch or eat it at my desk because I wanted to impress my boss and get my work done as quickly as possible. But I found that without that hour just to sit down and de-stress I was getting tired and cranky by 4pm and really terrible indigestion.’

Nutritionist David Cairns is concerned that desk-dining could put the health of workers at risk. ‘The short lunch means that most workers are just grabbing a sandwich. The problem is that many workers don’t eat a proper breakfast and so are not getting enough variety in their diet. Having lunch at your desk is not helpful for weight-management either. Often the only exercise office workers get during the day is when they walk to the pub.’

The new lunch
Whether it’s desk-dining or food on the run, lunch is almost unrecognisable from its former self. To make up for missing lunch during the week some workers are taking an extra long lunch on a Friday afternoon. Although the majority of workers settle on a sandwich, the alternatives such as sushi and wraps are becoming more popular. The biggest casualty of the new lunch is booze. Close to 90 per cent of people claim they never drink at lunchtime.

Lunchtime bites

• Workers in the north-west take the longest lunch breaks.
• The average worker spends £1.98 on lunch.
• The nation’s favourite lunchtime nosh is the humble sandwich.
• Men voted for Joanna Lumley as their favourite lunchtime partner whilst women would like to sit down with Tom Cruise.
• Most Scots prefer a soft drink to a glass of wine at lunchtime. Ninety-four per cent claim they never drink at lunchtime. Could they be lying, I wonder…?

Having trouble getting out for a bite?