They’ve got full plates, but empty tummies.
Gen Z go-getters are forgoing midday grub while on the job due to guilt, per new data on employee lunch trends.
“47% of Gen Zers miss out on lunch twice or more per week,” researchers from ezCater, a food-tech company, revealed in their 2024 Lunch Report.
And although 50% of the twenty-somethings consider lunch the “best part of the workday,” according to the findings, members of the distressed demographic are “four times more likely than Boomers to feel guilty for taking a break from work.”
It’s a cloud of shame leaving breadwinners hungry for help.
But it’s no big wonder why younger workers feel weird about tabling assignments to chow down at a break room table.
Powering through a workday without stopping is a trend that began during the pandemic — when most newcomers to the workforce were working from home.
In fact, a 2020 study via Freshly found that 60% of remote workers felt guilty about taking any breaks while on the clock, for fear of slowing down productivity.
And, unfortunately, those fears haven’t subsided in the years since the global health crisis.
A February 2024 survey commissioned by OnePoll on behalf of Pacific Foods determined that 9-to-5ers across the US still aren’t taking as many breaks as they need to in a given day.
However, despite their refusal to pause for a quick bite or beverage, a whopping 87% of employees said breaks are crucial to their personal wellness.
Health professionals agree.
“While taking breaks may seem counterintuitive in today’s busy world, studies show they can be of great benefit to overall wellbeing,” nutritionist Mia Syn previously stated, “including helping to reduce stress levels, increase productivity, enhance mood, and improve concentration and focus.”
A staggering 98% of worker bees across the generations recognize that lunch breaks can enhance job performance, happiness and mental activity, per ezCarter’s probe.
And yet, only 38% take a break away from their desk every day during lunch.
The analysts polled 5,000 full-time staffers to identify the root of the peckish problem.
They found that 23% of employees worry they won’t have enough time to get their work done if they grab some goodies. Nineteen percent feel they have “too many meetings” to take a break.
But ezCater experts say it’s incumbent on employers to ensure that their teams are breaking bread.
The investigators even found that a shocking 58% of hybrid workers would work on-site three days a week if their bosses provided free food.
“Lunch breaks are often sacrificed due to tight schedules, but they can play a major role in bringing people together and improving employee well-being,” said Kaushik Subramanian, Chief Revenue Officer of ezCater.
“Organizations can be intentional in encouraging employees to take a break,” added Subramanian, “and bringing in lunch is a great way to do that.”
