Are You Taking A Lunch Break Today?

June 15, 2018 marks the first official "National Take Back The Lunch Break Day" in the United States.

June 15, 2018 marks the first official “National Take Back The Lunch Break Day” in the United States. Slated for the third Friday in June every year, this day of observation has been created by Tork, an Essity brand, that manufactures napkins, toilet paper, hand towels, and soap used in offices across North America. In recent research, Tork found a major discrepancy between bosses believing their employees are encouraged to take a lunch break (88%) and their employees actually feeling that way (62%). Facility Executive asked reader s

The “National Take Back The Lunch Break Day” campaign includes Tork encouraging employees to take the pledge to take back their lunch break today (and, maybe, more often throughout the entire year).

lunch break

In an effort to change the (lack of) lunch landscape, Tork, whose napkins can be found in more than 50% of restaurants in the United States, partnered with renowned research scientist, Jennifer Deal, to provide insight on the correlation between workplace engagement and the long lost lunch break.

Elaborating on today’s launch, Don Lewis, President of Essity Professional Hygiene, said,”As a brand that serves both the needs of office workers and restaurants, we noticed a dip in both employee engagement and restaurant business in recent years and wanted to learn more. According to results from our Tork “Take Back the Lunch Break” survey of 1,600 bosses and employees across North America, many employees are worried that their bosses or co-workers will judge them if they take a real break. As a result, we found that the average break lasts less than 30 minutes. That’s barely enough time to buy a meal, let alone enjoy it! We wondered if taking a lunch break might prove to be a quick, easy fix to improving employee engagement across workplaces. And we were right. Employees might think that eating at their desk is a sign of dedication to the job, but in fact, our research showed they could be more productive if they step away. Results reveal that employees who regularly take lunch breaks are more likely to report feeling satisfied, engaged and efficient at work.”

Lewis continued, “This is why we have established the third Friday of each June as National Take Back the Lunch Break day. This year it falls on June 15 and on that day and every day, we encourage workers across the United States to step away from their desk to get fresh air, exercise, or eat a lunch that will fuel them for the rest of the day. This simple act of taking a full lunch break can improve how employees feel about their work and their company and is something everyone can start doing tomorrow to make a positive impact on employee engagement.”