Are Lunch Breaks a Waste of Time or a Productivity Booster?

by mrosen814 Posted 2012/07/18 20:00:00

Related Topics: Food, Lunch Break, Work, Working, Co-workers

334 votes
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	Waste of Time	40 votes	12%
	Productivity Booster	294 votes	88%

Do you eat lunch at your desk alone or grab a bite with your co-workers? According to Time, many workers today treat lunch as a speedy task to cram into their busy days. Though some would say that skipping lunch seems like an efficient use of time, "the midday break can be mentally rejuvenating and, in some ways, more productive than staying glued to your chair."

MONEYLAND.TIME.COM reports:
It’s 1:30 p.m. on a weekday, and Yen Ha and Michi Yanagishita have left their office to munch hot dogs and French fries at one of the oldest bars in New York.

yanagishita office munch hot dogs french fries oldest bars york

+12

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Riobhca 2012/07/19 02:12:40 (edited)

Productivity Booster

+5
You need a break from work. Gulping your food at your desk isn't good for you.
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More polls by mrosen814

llshadowz 2012/07/19 03:52:23

Productivity Booster

What people do with their lunch break is their choice and can make the difference between being helpful or hurtful to efficiency.

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Cal 2012/07/19 03:37:37

Productivity Booster

Morale booster to be precise.

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luke 2012/07/19 03:36:27

Productivity Booster

+3
Since when was eating a "waste of time"?

My lunch break goes as such: Lock computer, unplug tablet, put tablet and stylus in drawer, lock drawer, make sure I have my keycard, get in elevator, ride to main floor, leave elevator, leave building, cross road, turn left, walk a wee bit, enter a bistro, order a sandwich and a bottle of beer to go, walk back to work, use keycard to get in, get in elevator, ride to to the top floor, take stair to the roof, exit elevator, pry off beer cap, drink aforementioned beer and eat the aforementioned sandwich whilst looking at the city's skyline. That takes me less than 30 minutes to do and I'm not the only worker there who does it.

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jerry.a... to luke 2012/07/19 13:50:30

beer during the work day?...obviously not a gov't worker....I would have been fired

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luke to jerry.a... 2012/07/20 01:27:09

Nope. I'm presently working as a graphic designer for a company in Holland.

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jerry.a... to luke 2012/07/20 12:30:06

ah, drinking to get the creative juices flowin' eh?

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Irish little 2012/07/19 03:31:06

Productivity Booster

If it were not for a brake { whatever you call it} production would drop bt about 18% overall. We tried it , to let them out earlier but it did NOT work.

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Wyveryx 2012/07/19 03:18:29

Productivity Booster

+1
I'd say it's only a productivity booster if you allow yourself the chance to relax.

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Eyes See Wide North 2012/07/19 03:17:52

Productivity Booster

+3
How they are taken is what makes a difference.

Someone who waits and anticipates there break is someone who is not productive.

Being on your own timetable, breaking when YOU feel like you makes us much more efficent as we will be working towards our own goals, those who are working in the wrong place or who are simply incapable of working at all will make it clear and leave room for good staff.

Separating the weak from the strong, with real freedom.

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Rachel ~In HP I Trust~ 2012/07/19 03:16:38

Productivity Booster

Since when is eating a waste of time?? That doesn't make much sense..I always feel better and more productive after a lunch break.

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RobbyRhodes88 2012/07/19 03:14:53

Productivity Booster

I wouldn't call it a productivity booster, but it is awesome to get a break every day. And the lunch break usually does give me a second wind. Love my break!

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runningintriangles 2012/07/19 03:06:56

Waste of Time

+2
I don't really get hungry (I've gone for some long unhealthy stretches of not eating in my life, so hunger is never an issue), so hunger isn't a distraction, but having to take 20 minutes out of my schedule to do something as pointless as eat? No. Besides, I generally keep little snacks around throughout the day (carrots, dried mango, a protein bar), so before you all call me unhealthy for skipping lunch, it's not like I don't eat... I just don't let eating be an interruption, and I end up getting much more done.

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USAF Vet to running... 2012/07/19 08:07:42

+1
Tell that to the Unions.......

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TKramar to running... 2012/07/19 10:10:23

Plus, one could eat before or after work. I only eat once a day, and that's before work.

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tobe to running... 2012/07/19 13:48:14

alot of jobs won't let you eat outside of designated lunch and break periods.

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running... to tobe 2012/07/30 04:50:28

Then suck it up or find a new job. -_-''

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jerry.a... to running... 2012/07/19 13:51:53

i work with a guy that has an alarm to tell him when to eat...becuase of a genetic defect...he never feels hungry...one day he passed out and they found he hadn't eaten in 3 days...was just drinking coffee the whole time.

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mikeeonly 2012/07/19 02:52:12

Productivity Booster

+1
They are productive if kept to a shorter, say half an hour time period. After that your body tends to go out of work mode and relax too much.

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bob h. 2012/07/19 02:46:13

Productivity Booster

+2
Good all around.

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Riobhca 2012/07/19 02:12:40 (edited)

Productivity Booster

+5
You need a break from work. Gulping your food at your desk isn't good for you.

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jerry.a... to Riobhca 2012/07/19 13:52:37

that is why I make finger foods....every bite is small and I take my time.

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shadow76 to Riobhca 2012/07/19 16:02:30

Gulping your food gives you acid reflux.

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LovelyLady 2012/07/19 02:04:03 (edited)

Waste of Time

I always love taking slim fast and drinking that really quickly, then just going back to work.

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kitkat42 2012/07/19 02:02:10

Productivity Booster

+2
A person needs to get away, even for a short time. At my old place they used to make you take lunch. You got written up and no one was allowed to eat at their desk -- EVER!. I think its a good practice.

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NarcolepticGoat 2012/07/19 02:00:27

Productivity Booster

+1
or, for a diabetic: a medical prescription

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xxx 2012/07/19 01:51:35

Productivity Booster

+2
Depending on how you use it. I'll go shopping sometimes and today I'm going to the gym

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mr echo 2012/07/19 01:46:46
Marc m 2012/07/19 01:44:48

Waste of Time

+2
Waste of time. Let me add ... lunch is a waste of time for me but every job & person is different. For example a construction worker may need to have lunch to replenish where as a mailman may graze all day long on "his appointed rounds". Lunch should be left up to the individual.

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Soapstone 2012/07/19 01:33:54

Productivity Booster

+2
Nothing gets done on an empty stomach. Well, some things do, just not standing up.

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Elizabeth 2012/07/19 01:32:18

Productivity Booster

+2
everybody needs to eat lunch! of course its not a waste of time.

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JCLadybug 2012/07/19 01:24:21

Productivity Booster

+2
For me, it depends on the day. But if I am at a desk that day, productivity booster. If I am doing an experiment it is a waste of time. With my husband's job, it is always a productivity booster.

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the judgebigdogeagle 2012/07/19 01:22:41

Productivity Booster

+1
You get away from the computer{Not Just Sodahead} for awhile.

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MyDaydream90 2012/07/19 01:18:42

Productivity Booster

+3
Personally, I couldn't make it without my lunch break. I'm standing up for most of my job, so it helps to be able to sit for a little while. Plus, I get hungry in the middle of the day, and I'm not going to be able to perform as well at my job if I'm hungry and have no energy. I always feel a lot better after my lunch break and it shows in my job performance.

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realist 2012/07/19 01:11:52

Waste of Time

For me, personally. I remove lunch and eat at my desk, then leave an hour earlier.

I would rather spend that hour in an environment of my choosing, of which none exist within the vicinity of my workplace.

It should be a choice how you structure your 8-9 hour work day, so long as it operates within the boundaries of acceptable limits (possibly 7am - 6pm) for standard workplaces?

Communicate with your team, as long as people are aware of when you work and you keep that structure relatively standard, shouldn't be an issue.

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TKramar to realist 2012/07/19 10:13:03

I have, as a seasonal job, a desk job where I cannot take lunch or eat at my desk during my shift. I have to always be ready to take another client...and wiping special sauce off my chin before starting to work with the client doesn't seem at all professional.

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realist to TKramar 2012/07/19 11:26:59 (edited)

Thats why I suggested it should be a choice ;) "And for me personally" its a waste of time. One size does not fit all, but as adults we should be smart enough to manage our work days within acceptable boundaries (depending on the type of work). Maybe for you it might be more a case of 'what' you eat at your desk.

My partner can't eat hot food at hers, but also rarely manages a break, so instead started making salad to tailor her eating to suit her job etc...

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TKramar to realist 2012/07/19 20:20:10

I have to man that desk until someone comes in to relieve me. They actually frown on us even going to the bathroom, but let's be serious--if I need five minutes to use the bathroom, I'm going to have to do it.

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realist to TKramar 2012/07/19 22:20:57

Wow sounds like they need to resource a little better to allow you a break that must be terrible at times.

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TKramar to realist 2012/07/20 11:07:33

After March 1st, they don't bother to have two people working at once. I prepare taxes. If someone comes by wanting their taxes done, and no one's at the desk, they just walk off. So they want someone there.

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rockyjr5 2012/07/19 01:00:56

Productivity Booster

+2
Heck no, lunch breaks aren't a waste of time, workers have to eat to, and they will get sick if they go a long time without eating, especially if they don't get up in time to eat breakfast before they start their job.

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