It seems every culture on the planet takes time during the day to fuel up and take a break - accept the U. S.! Half of American workers don't take a lunch break. Some say they are just too busy!
“We Americans take our busy-ness – not our productivity -- very seriously. We wear it like a badge of honor! But it could be all for show!” comments workplace culture expert Sheryl Lyons of Houston’s Culture Spark.
Lyons says working straight through may not be so bad - depending on the company.
“So it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It all depends on the work environment and what it takes to get their product or services delivered to their customers.”
Some employers love to see the show of dedication to work - others don't. “There are companies that demand workers take a break at lunch. For many of them it’s a very good policy.
She says that burnout seems to be getting worse every year. Bobby Albert of Values Driven Culture has this advice for supervisors of a staff that's just too busy.
“Make your staff leave their work stations, their offices, their desks and go somewhere – even if it’s just to run an errand. They have to have a mental break.” He swears if lunch-taking numbers go up, burn-out numbers will go down.