Ben Graham says new findings show a shocking number of Australians work through their lunch break every day, which is bad for their health and for productivity.
By Ben Graham*
If you’ve ever felt so chained to your desk that you can’t even head out for lunch — you’re not alone.
In fact, new findings show that only 10 per cent of Aussie workers never work through their meal break and almost a quarter of us power through without one every day.
And, the reasons workers gave for skipping their hard-earned break varied from feeling “chained to their desks”, the need to “brown nose” and not wanting to “feel guilty”.
When asked why they work through lunch, 75 per cent of respondents in the study, commissioned by software company TSheets, feel they can’t enjoy a break because there is simply too much work to do and too few staff members to share the burden.
Some even suggested working through lunch was a result of their organisation’s culture.
When asked about the frequency of requests to work through lunch per week, almost a quarter of employees are asked daily, while another 45 per cent are asked between two, three and four times weekly or several times per month.
About one in 10 have either rarely or never received such a request.
And, this obsession with working though lunch might not be doing us any favours.
The Australia Institute found lunch breaks make an employee’s day more enjoyable, which leads to a happier and more productive workplace.
Taking breaks, even micro ones, can help to recharge one’s brain, relieve stress, increase energy levels and help with digestion, blood pressure and even sleep.
This was reflected in the survey findings released last week — which also asked the respondents what they thought about skipping lunch.
Half of those responding said they agreed skipping a proper lunch or meal break makes them less productive.
While 20 per cent believe it makes them more productive and 30 per cent claim skipping lunch has zero effect on their productivity.
TSheets analyst Sandy Vo said the survey showed the privilege of a meal break was “disappearing into more work”.
“Employers are ultimately responsible for their employees’ wellbeing and safety,” she said.
“Ensuring employees have adequate breaks to control risks and relieve fatigue can only benefit the business in the end.”
Ben Davison, from the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said workers were losing out because employers had too much power.
“This survey shows even a lunch break isn’t safe from bosses squeezing down workers conditions,” Mr Davison told The Daily Telegraph.
“One in four people working through their lunch break is just one of the real life impacts of cost cutting, outsourcing and a culture that tells working people if you complain we can always take away your job.”
The new study also shows there is a degree of uncertainty among Australian workers about how much time they are allowed to take for lunch.
More than 62 per cent of respondents were certain they are entitled to a meal break entitlement, just over 10 per cent were not sure and 27 per cent did not have a set time for their lunch or meal breaks.
However, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting Chief Executive, Jenny Lambert said Australians had a every right to take lunch breaks.
“Workplaces manage time in an increasingly diverse range of ways,” she told the Courier-Mail.
“In many workplaces there is an increasing trend towards employers managing output and performance rather than attendance.”
“This includes a clear trend in many workplaces towards empowering employees to manage their own working time, particularly in the middle of the day.”
“We suspect that most cases of working through lunch are driven by employee choice rather than directions from the employer.”
Many entitlements are provided for and insisted upon under the National Employment Standards, but a meal break is not one of them.
Daily breaks, however, are provisioned under most modern awards and enterprise agreements.
The standard is employees who work more than five hours in a day are entitled to a 30-minute unpaid meal break.
Always refer to the Fair Work Ombudsman to learn about the applicable breaks for your industry.
* Ben Graham is a reporter for News.com.au in Sydney. He tweets at @bengrahamjourno.
This article first appeared at www.news.com.au.
