The rise of the didnt-have-time-to-dine culture

The rise of the ‘didn’t-have-time-to-dine’ culture by Michael Cheary Three in five UK workers are given less than an hour for their lunch break68% of people dont take  the full amount of time allocatedTwo in three admit that they don’t actually eat at lunch62% of UK employees are given less than an hour for their lunch breaks, according to our latest research.We surveyed 1,000 UK workers to find out how we really spend our lunchtimes. We found that not only are more of us given less time for our lunch breaks than the traditional hour we may expect, we also spend less of that time actually eating.Whats more, when we do take a break,  over two thirds of us elect to take less time than our employer gives us.So, why are we still finding it so difficult to separate ourselves from our desks?It may be that this less regimented approach is symptomatic of our hard working mindset: we’ve already seen that more people are working overtime  due to increasing workload demands. Are we similarly skipping our sandwiches, not out of choic e, but out of necessity to get the job done? And is our appetite for career advancement outweighing our hunger for a hearty midday meal?With 66% of workers taking their own lunch into the office, this would certainly seem to be the case. Instead of going out to a gastropub or grabbing lunch on the go, perhaps the happy medium for many is, simply ‘bringing-your-own’.Its well-known that the  DIY approach is also a great way to save cash. Whilst  some opt to splash the cash on a £25+ lunch week, the majority of us (61%) spend less than a tenner: the equivalent of  saving £780 over the course of a year.But what about those who choose not to eat at all? Only one in three indicated that they actually eat on their lunch break. Other popular activities included reading news or personal interest articles, socialising with colleagues or going to the gym.So maybe the ‘didn’t-have-time-to-dine’ culture has as much to do with our own personal downtime as it does with our working live s and office environments. With less than one precious hour to spend on our interests, food may simply come out as the lowest priority, with many preferring to catch up on the latest drama-on-demand  on their desktops  than making the effort to eat lunch.However, despite the lack of importance placed on our lunchtimes, almost half of us acknowledged that a free or subsidised lunch may influence our decision to change jobs.Food for thought for some employers perhaps…Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features