We've all seen it in our workplaces, colleagues who sit at their desks from 9 until 5 without even taking a lunch break. Their usual excuses:
- I've too much work to do
- I've got to get this thing finished
- I'm not hungry
- My boss will think less of me if I'm not here when they need me
We could go on and on. For us, lunch breaks are vital, and every employee should take advantage of the time they can take away from their desk / the office. Here are some reasons why:
- Your mind needs to rest and recharge. Your brain needs to take a break at some point during the day - your lunch break will give your brain a rest, and most likely will increase your productivity for the afternoon. This is a key point, being at your desk all day may actually render you less productive than if you went ahead and took a lunch break away from it.
- It's good for your body. Too much constant stress can lead to all sorts of medical problems further down the line. Taking time to unwind now can help relieve stress before it’s too late. Being able to get up and take a walk, perhaps outside in the fresh air, can really help to handle the stresses of the working day.
- You are more creative when you are relaxed. Having some time to sit and think, away from your computer and normal work environment, can help you reflect on your morning's activities, and bring some fresh ideas into your mind.
- It will help your day feel more manageable. Instead of anticipating hour after hour of work, you can divide your plan for the day into two distinct “sessions” or blocks of time. Being able to break the day up into these manageable chunks can make it go by faster and make it easier to get through the day.
- Eating at your desk won't feel like a break. If you are still sitting amongst colleagues, or by your phone, you won't switch off for that all important half hour or hour. People will still ask you questions, the boss will pop in with a new project, or the phone will ring and you'll feel obliged to answer it.
- If you keep on skipping lunch, people will keep on expecting you to. There will come a time when you realise there is more to life than work and you want to make the most of the sunshine but you'll feel guilty about going out, and your manager will start to wonder why your levels of commitment seem to have diminished when you disappear at noon to sit and chill in the local park. By making yourself indispensable, you become indispensable and that isn’t always a good thing.
If any of this sounds all too familiar, you should be working out now how you could change the way you think about your lunch breaks.
