THE average worker in Belfast now takes just 34 minutes for their lunch break new research has shown.
According to a new poll conducted by Workthere, who are owned by global estate agents Savills, office employees in Belfast eat lunch at their desk on average four days per week and even when they do take a lunch break, they often don’t step out of the office.
Over a third of respondents (40 per cent) said they rarely leave the office at lunch time, while 10 per cent agreed they felt pressure to work through their lunch hour.
A total of 37 per cent of those questioned in Belfast said that access to outside space at lunchtime would make them more productive at work, with 28 per cent confirming a quiet area to escape to would make a difference to the time they spend on their lunch break.
The new research, shows that that over half of UK workers (52 per cent) are skipping their lunch break completely – a significant shift from the traditional one hour break.
Londoners are most likely to skip their lunch hour altogether, closely followed by Birmingham, Manchester and Norwich.
Michael Healy of Savills – who heads up Workthere’s Irish operation, said a longer lunch break was conducive to a better working environment.
“We have seen wellness establish itself firmly on the workplace agenda with employers in Belfast increasingly recognising the benefits of ensuring staff are content, happy and most importantly, in good health. Part of this is creating a productive office environment where employees feel comfortable taking a longer lunch break and engaging with colleagues.”
Wortkthere commissioned a poll of 2,000 full time workers across the UK on their lunchtime habits to find out how long they actually take for lunch.
