The traditional lunch "hour" has all but disappeared with the average lunch break in the Republic now just 38 minutes long, according to a new survey.
Our 38-minute break is positively leisurely when compared with the 31 minutes spent by Northern Ireland workers on their lunch. In Britain, the meal is wolfed down in just 28 minutes.
Too much work, or being too busy, were the main reasons given for not taking a longer break, the Eurest Lunchtime Report 2006 found. When asked why they didn't take a longer lunch break, a diligent 7 per cent said they'd rather work than eat. An anxious 4 per cent said their boss didn't take a break so this dissuaded them from lingering over lunch.
The long lunch is definitely a thing of the past, with just 1 per cent admitting to spending more than two hours at lunch every day. But while the lunch hour seems to be shrinking, workers are actually spending an average three minutes longer having lunch than they did two years ago when the survey was last done.
Almost four out of five in the Republic take a lunch break every day, as do 71 per cent of their Northern Irish counterparts. This compares with 59 per cent in Britain. While 11 per cent of London workers said they ate while they worked, just 3 per cent in this State said they did not stop for lunch.
Not only do we spend slightly longer at our lunch, but we also spend more money. Workers in this State splash out an average of €4.24 daily compared with €3.54 in Northern Ireland and an economical €2.87 in Britain.
Although the Wall Street film famously declared that "lunch is for wimps", men are more likely to have a break than women. Some 84 per cent of men stop for lunch compared to 73 per cent of women in this State.
The staff canteen is the most popular place to buy lunch, with almost a quarter of Irish workers using the facility.
Some 70 per cent of workers both North and South said they were more concerned about eating healthily than they were two years ago.
Sandwiches and baguettes are the most popular lunch for 60 per cent of workers in this State and tea is still the top lunchtime drink for 52 per cent of Republic of Ireland workers and 38 per cent of workers in Northern Ireland.
