Nick Bloom, a Stanford professor specializing in workplace behavior, joins to discuss the changing dynamics of lunch breaks in our new remote world. He highlights how flexible work has led people to forgo their lunch hours for errands and exercise. Is this shift affecting social connections at work? Bloom shares insights alongside FT Magazine's Harriet Fitch Little, revealing the evolution of business lunches and the humorous realities of eating at your desk. Can a great homemade lunch spark connections, or are we just spilling on our keyboards?
The decline of the traditional lunch hour reflects a significant shift in work-life balance, with employees prioritizing personal tasks over extended breaks.
Networking opportunities have evolved post-pandemic, with breakfast or dinner meetings increasingly replacing traditional business lunches as employees seek more flexibility.
Deep dives
The Decline of the Lunch Hour
The traditional lunch hour is fading, especially as remote work becomes more common. Data analysis from a company called Rome indicates that worker activity remains constant throughout the day, without a typical mid-day break. Employees are increasingly opting to use that time for personal tasks or chores instead of taking a proper lunch. This shift highlights a fundamental change in work-life balance, where the lunch hour is often sacrificed for work or personal flexibility.
Adapting Lunch for Flexibility
Many employees are rethinking how they utilize their lunch breaks, often favoring smaller meals or multitasking instead of sitting down for an extended break. The idea of spending time on personal errands or taking care of family needs has gained traction, leading to shorter lunch experiences. Such flexibility allows individuals to manage their time more effectively, choosing to eat light or combine lunch with other daily activities. This adaptability has become a hallmark of working from home, reshaping the purpose of the lunch hour.
The Changing Landscape of Business Lunches
Post-pandemic, business lunches and their social aspect have seen a significant shift, with fewer traditional lunch meetings taking place. Networking and relationship-building opportunities are more commonly happening during breakfast or dinner meetings instead, as evenings offer more flexibility for employees. Despite a decline in city-center lunch sales, businesses are incentivizing employees to come to the office with free lunches, aiming to rekindle social connections. Overall, the landscape for professional interactions is evolving, requiring new approaches to maintaining relationships.
If you like your colleagues, the lunch hour is probably a highlight of your working day. But fewer and fewer of us are actually using it to, well, lunch. Since flexible working has become the norm, people have increasingly ‘banked’ their lunch hour, and spent their break time running errands, exercising, or seeing their kids. Stanford university professor Nick Bloom tells host Isabel Berwick. But is something lost if we don’t break bread with our colleagues? Is eating ‘al desko’ really so bad? And what’s the secret to a great homemade lunch? FT Magazine Food and Drink editor Harriet Fitch Little also joins to discuss.
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Credits:
Presented by Isabel Berwick, produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval, mixed by Jake Fielding. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s head of audio.