The Wall Street Journal just ran an article about how sad it is that people don’t go out to lunch anymore. They write:
The U.S. restaurant industry is in a funk. Blame it on lunch.
Americans made 433 million fewer trips to restaurants at lunchtime last year, resulting in roughly $3.2 billion in lost business, according to market-research firm NPD Group Inc. It was the lowest level of lunch traffic in at least four decades.
While that loss in traffic is a 2% decline from 2015, it is a significant one-year drop for an industry that has traditionally relied on lunch and has had little or no growth for a decade.
“I put [restaurant] lunch right up there with fax machines and pay phones,” said Jim Parks, a 55-year-old sales director who used to dine out for lunch nearly every day but found in recent years that he no longer had room for it in his schedule.
The decline in lunch business is horrible for restaurants and horrible for people who want to go out from time to time but will find themselves without their favorite restaurants if enough people follow their frugal and time-saving lead to sit at their desk and eat leftovers. Now, I’m never going to tell someone that it’s their duty to prop up another business rather than use money wisely. But I will say you need to step away from your desk.
To keep reading, click here: Why You Should Go to Lunch, Today
I believe that people need to get away from their desks for awhile, in order to be both more productive and more emotionally-healthy. However, I do not believe that means going out to lunch every day. If you want to support your favorite restaurant, lunch there — or pick up something on the way to or from work — maybe once a week. Besides being too expensive, restaurant lunches — generally — serve too much food, which results in customers either over-eating (which is bad for productivity and health) or wasting food (bad environmentally, financially and morally). That being said, I do not believe in eating at one’s desk. It is unsanitary and does not provide a sufficient mental break. If there’s not an adequate break/lunch room at work, find or make a space. A work lunchroom is better than the traditional “water cooler” to interact with co-workers, especially ones with whom you normally do not have contact. And, the break should also include a break from the electronic devices that tether one to work.
I agree. If I went to a restaurant for lunch every day I’d weigh 300 pounds and have no money. But I do want breaks.
I guard my lunch hour like my most prized workday possession. My blood sugar drops if I don’t eat a meal-sized lunch. So if you want me crabby, short tempered, and totally lazy in the afternoon, than take away my lunch.
And no, I don’t want your company. I need a break from people as much as I need a break from work tasks.
If I spent $10 on lunch every workday I’d be $2400 poorer by year’s end. I try to limit eating out to once a week, twice outside.
I just started a job located in the downtown of a suburb of my city. You can actually go for a walk there! My last three jobs your options involved circling the office-park parking lot. But here, it’s a small grid of streets with things to look at. I think I’ll turn left here! I think I’ll turn right here! It’s delightful. And a more healthful way to spend my break time at work.
You don’t have to go out for lunch daily but you do need to take and get a break from work during a scheduled 8 hour day which usually means 9 hours on job facility ( 8 hours working minus 1 hour break). What has happened over the years has been the tendency to not take the breaks and leave early. Same thinking that a salaried person does with getting in 40 hours prior to Friday so they can have 3 day weekends.
If the companies are changing back to in office work versus at-home work, break time should be also encouraged.
Most of the people I know in IT do working lunches for two reasons. First is that there is always a upcoming deadline. Second is that many employers mandate that the employee do training and stay current in the industry on their own time (and dime). As a result hours become a very precious commodity; even without kids.