In June, it came to light that office workers only manage an average of a 16 minute lunch break a day. Despite many companies offering a full hour for employees to enjoy a hard-earned break, many are only using a quarter of that time, and almost half actually take that break at their desk – at 12:43pm, to be precise.

These office workers admitted that they feel too busy to take their full break, with some even claiming that their lunch break is used to tackle small administrative tasks.

This is devastating news for employers, since lunch breaks have a huge impact on productivity and employee wellbeing. Here we break down the importance of taking an adequate lunch break, and how employers can foster an office environment where lunch breaks are considered a must.

Why take a lunch break?

For many employees, getting away from the desk for an hour seems to be getting more and more difficult. With deadlines mounting, countless emails that require responses, and afternoon meetings which need preparation, the ‘justifications’ for skipping lunch or eating whilst working are never-ending.

What employees don’t realise, however, is that lunch breaks recharge your brain’s capacity; by giving yourself time to rest and recharge, your coping abilities, emotional intelligence, memory, focus, and decision-making skills increase. Stress levels are controlled, afternoon energy levels are increased, and physical health is maintained – especially if you step away from your desk to enjoy a nutritious lunch.

How can employers help?

Now that you understand the benefits of breaks, it’s time to implement some changes within your office. Discuss the benefits of breaks with your employees; make sure that they’re aware that your company culture is break-friendly, eradicate the guilt! You can also urge your team to use break-friendly apps, which remind employees to take short breaks at regular intervals.

It also goes without saying that you should be leading by example. We all know that workplace behaviour is contagious, with studies finding that 49% of workers imitate a colleague’s behaviour at work. Use this to your advantage, then. Make sure that your team sees a manager taking breaks during the day; they’ll be far more likely to follow suit. It’s win-win!

When in doubt, dish out freebies. Stock your office kitchen with healthy snacks. More than half of employees have claimed that complimentary food and drink would make them feel more appreciated at work, and this initiative would certainly encourage full break times being optimised. For that extra boost to afternoon productivity, choose healthy snacks and beverages.

Make sure that your office has varied spaces for breaks. It’s often the case that the sorry state of worker breaks reflects the sorry state of office break rooms. Depending on the size of your company, you should have at least two break rooms – one for quiet time and one with some noise and atmosphere. Learn more about luxury office design and rejuvenate your workers.