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传统的午餐休息时间正在因为工作压力的徒增而变得名存实亡。专家表示,大约有70%的上班族每天都是在办公桌前打发午餐的。美国的一项调查发现55%的人缩减了午休时间,甚至用这个私人时间来处理公务。
有些人认为工作时间投入越多,产出就越大。营养学家告诫说,这种想法是不对的,每天哪怕只是抽20分钟花在午休上,对工作效率的提高都是很显著的。
从法律角度来说,员工享有半小时午休。老板也不得要求员工连续工作5个小时而不提供不带薪的30分钟休息。

Death of the lunch hour
By Lanai Vasek
Article from: 
August 20, 2008 12:09pm
THE lunch hour could be in danger of dying out, with a growing number of workers feeling pressured to eat at their desks.
It seems the lunch hour has become one of the biggest casualties of the softening job market, with experts suggesting almost 70 per cent of workers eat at their desks on a daily basis.
Cramming everything into an eight hour stretch seems to be the main problem for Aussie workers with employers piling up the workload in response to tightening budgets .
A US study found 55 per cent of employees cut back on their lunch time, and even used their lunch break for work related activities.
Employers seem to have the attitude that more time spent working equates to more work produced, but this is not the case, ACTU President Sharan Burrow says.
"Lunch should not be skipped for both employee health and productivity," she said.
Being the talk of the office seems to be one of the major reasons workers are handcuffing themselves to the furniture, with the fear of getting a bad name as a slacker being greater than the need to have a break.
"Workers are worried about what people will say if they take too long on their break," dietician Tara Diversi says.
But Ms Diversi says spending even 20 minutes out of the office at lunch can lead to greater productivity.
"The biggest thing employers can do for productivity is encourage lunch. Workers tend to have a lot more energy if they take a break, meaning they're more on the ball for the afternoon stretch," she said.
Even if you don't get out of the office the important thing is to switch off and remove the desk chains for a little while, said Ms Diversi.
"You will find you're getting more work done than if you didn't break at all," she said.
Having a midday break not benefits your work, but it also leads to better overall health.
"Workers tend to go home feeling energised and are less likely to lounge around and snack if they've had a boost in the middle of the day," said Ms Diversi.
Your rights
You are legally entitled to a 30 minute lunch break. According to the Workplace Relations Act, bosses can’t ask employees to work for more than five hours continuously without an unpaid interval of at least 30 minutes.
This Act is across all industries, nationwide. However the question remains as to just how many workers get this type of break each day.
Keyboard cravings
The 'in the office' lunch date can also mean we're making the wrong choices when it comes to waistlines.
Desk-bound employees often get sucked in to eating more and eating more of the wrong thing. Raiding the office vending machine and taking short coffee breaks are band-aid solutions, Ms Diversi says.
"Employees need to make more proactive choices when it comes to lunch and taking breaks in the office," she says.
Is one hour enough?
According to the latest ABS obesity figures, 7.4 million Australians aged 18 years and over are either overweight or obese - and getting out of the office at lunch could just be the perfect opportunity for exercise.
Taking a walk for even 10 minutes or heading to the gym for 30 minutes during lunch are the top suggestions for fitting exercise in to your day.
"Anything is better than nothing at all," said Ms Diversi.
Bosses to blame
How your bosses behave may be at the core of the problem, with lunch habits being modelled on those higher up the office food chain.
"Employers need to lead by example and get out of the office at lunch," said Ms Diversi.
With senior management working through the day and not stepping out for lunch, workers feel they need to do the same, she said.
Staff lunches, staggered breaks or sending the whole office for lunch at one particular time are ways businesses could get more out of their staff.
"Closing up shop and sending everyone out for lunch at the same time is exactly what we do in our office and it works immensely well," Ms Diversi said. |
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