THE STUDY of 1,200 office workers shows millions of Brits rarely take a full hour lunch break, with 40% skipping it and nearly 25% feeling pressured to work through it.
The survey found the top reasons for skipping lunch: 53% blame heavy workloads, and 37% point to tight deadlines.
Nearly 23% feel pressured to stay at their desks over the midday break, while 30% skip lunch entirely to catch up on admin tasks like filling out timesheets and compiling notes.
The strain of missing out on lunch breaks goes beyond the office. The study revealed 22% have had to skip medical appointments due to work demands, while 20% have missed school events for their children.
Some workers have even had to cancel personal plans, with 7% admitting to missing a date and 23% saying they’ve had to forego meeting someone for lunch.
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Neil Sawyer, Managing Director of HP’s Northwest Europe market, which commissioned the research, highlighted the importance of taking breaks.
“Everyone is entitled to a lunch hour, but it seems many aren’t taking it as they should.
“But while it might seem like you are too busy to take a break, you can end up feeling more refreshed and therefore more productive than you would if you worked through.
“AI is set to be a significant driver of change in the future of work, increasing productivity and allowing workers to enjoy their jobs more by taking simple and repetitive tasks off their plates.
“Hopefully this will free up some time to allow more people to take the lunch break they are entitled to.”
HP is rolling out AI-enabled PCs aimed at helping employees reduce time on repetitive admin tasks, potentially freeing up workers to take their deserved lunch breaks.
