July 25, 2005—Steelcase, a global office environments manufacturer, has revealed the results of the last in a three-part Workplace Index Survey on the Nature of Work in 2005.
Conducted by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC), the study surveyed approximately 700 office workers to determine the average time workers take for lunch and the reasons employees are compelled to work through part or all of their lunch hour.
In today’s workplace, the traditional lunch “hour” has become more of a lunch “break.” Fifty-five percent of workers take a half hour or less for lunch. Interestingly, women are much more likely to take shorter lunches than men (61 percent vs. 48 percent).
When compared to a similar survey conducted by Steelcase nine years ago, workers in 2005 are spending 14 percent less time breaking for lunch—31 minutes—as compared to 1996 when workers spent an average of 36 minutes a day for lunch.
Steelcase conducts the Workplace Index Survey to uncover pertinent issues in today’s work environment. Past surveys have been conducted on weekend work habits, organizational trends in the workplace, weekend work, workplace environmental concerns and alternative postures in the workplace. For more information, visit the Steelcase Web site.
