When I think of the term \u201clunch hour,\u201d I picture Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men, schmoozing with clients over prime rib and several martinis, even though that\u2019s certainly not what my\u00a0work lunch looks like. The endless array of fast and fast-casual food joints available in the U.S. suggests that it\u2019s not the way most Americans are spending their midday meals either. (There\u2019s even a \u201csad desk lunch\u201d hashtag that went viral a few years ago.)<\/p>\n
It makes me wonder: Does anyone take a real lunch break anymore? To find out, Yahoo\/YouGov polled 1,676 U.S. adults between Sept. 25 and Sept. 29 about their lunchtime habits. I also spoke to an expert who literally wrote the book on lunch<\/a>, along with several people about their own lunch habits.<\/p>\n The data says: Most people lunch alone, at their desks<\/p>\n According to our polling, three-quarters of Americans who are employed by someone else do get a lunch break. About half of those people have paid lunch breaks, while half take lunch unpaid. In either case, the most common way that they spend their break is eating at their desk (50%). Just shy of 30% of workers go out for lunch on their own.<\/p>\n During lunchtime, nearly half (44%) just eat, taking a break from screens and tasks to focus on their food. But 38% spend this time scrolling on their phones.<\/p>\n When did we all start eating lunch alone?<\/p>\n Ria<\/a>, a 28-year-old who works in corporate administration, used to eat her company-mandated, hourlong lunch in the cafeteria at her Texas office building, she tells Yahoo. But these days, she brings her own lunch from home since it\u2019s usually more affordable, healthier and convenient. She prefers to spend her lunch break working out in the company\u2019s gym, and then she eats her lunch at her desk while she works (or steps outside if it\u2019s a nice day). Ria says that working through lunch is \u201cmore of a personal preference when I get into a groove or a lot of tasks come through that are easier to do then.\u201d She\u2019d love to meet up with a friend for lunch but says it\u2019s just too hard to coordinate schedules.<\/p>\n That seems to be the case for most people. Only 12% of respondents to our poll said they go out to lunch with others during the week. And, in reality, social lunches away from the office were only the cultural norm for a brief period and for a relatively small share of workers, Megan Elias<\/a>, a professor of food and cultural history at Boston University and author of Lunch<\/a>, tells Yahoo.<\/p>\n The modern lunch is really a product of the industrial revolution. Factories became the largest employers in the U.S<\/a>. beginning in the late 19th century and peaking in 1979. Since then, \u201cwe\u2019ve internalized what industrialization created, which is this timed day: The bell rings for morning, for lunch, for when it\u2019s time to come back from lunch and when the day is over,\u201d says Elias.<\/p>\n With these industrial companies came the administrative workers to support the businesses and, eventually, offices. By the 20th century, \u201clunch places\u201d emerged: caf\u00e9s and diners for people to stop into for lunch, while higher-end restaurants cropped up to serve the executives. During this mid-19th-century era, lunch counters, where \u201cpeople were sitting elbow-to-elbow\u201d with one another, were important to the Civil Rights Movement<\/a>,\u201d notes Elias. But they were short-lived, she adds.<\/p>\n The 1980s and 1990s brought more and more office jobs, as well as recession fears that have left a lasting mark. \u201cThere\u2019s this anxiety that if I\u2019m seen not working, I\u2019m not taken seriously,\u201d Elias says. Factories are no longer the biggest industry in the U.S., but the idea of a timed lunch hour remained. \u201cIf you\u2019re on the clock, it\u2019s regulated,\u201d says Elias. \u201cSomebody knows how long you took for lunch, and it [feels] surveilled.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the pandemic, the return-to-office movement has only renewed the perception that companies want to keep a close eye on their employees, leaving many workers feeling the pressure to appear productive \u2014 even while they eat.<\/p>\n Ria at times feels some of that pressure at work. \u201cAt the office, when [other employees and managers] see you, they don\u2019t always know if you\u2019re on lunch,\u201d she says. Occasionally, when she needs a real break from the office and other people, Ria will eat in her car, where she can watch something on her iPad and relax a bit.<\/p>\n What we lose when we stop having social lunches<\/p>\n For one, it\u2019s healthier to have a break from work and take your time while eating<\/a>, rather than rushing through lunch. Though it may sound counterintuitive, research<\/a> suggests that taking breaks at work can boost productivity (and well-being). According to Elias, stepping away from your desk and sharing a meal is also good for your sense of connection to others. \u201cWhen you\u2019re enjoying something, even if it\u2019s just a grilled cheese, in the company of other people enjoying things, it\u2019s a kind of affirmation of your humanity,\u201d she says. Eating together is a form of \u201ccommunity building in little ways,\u201d Elias says, adding that it serves as a reminder that \u201cwe have something in common.\u201d<\/p>\n