It’s National Take Back Your Lunch Break Day
Enjoy a nice lunch on June 17th.
On Friday, June 17th, please come join the Planted, not Buried Team as it is encouraged for Americans to take back their lunch break.
What exactly does this look like? As we become accustomed to working remotely, it is hard to carve out time to really step away from our work and enjoy a lunch break. National Take Back The Lunch Break Day is exactly that, a time to step away from work and enjoy your normal everyday lunch break.
To understand where the idea of “lunch” even comes from, we have to go back to 1580 when the first use of the word was used. The term “lunch” or “luncheon” was used to describe a meal that was eaten between more sustainable meals (like breakfast and dinner as we call them today). The 17th and 18th centuries is when we really see lunch being born. At this time, dinner was pushed back to later in the day, creating a large gap in the middle of the day between two meals. This spare space was filled with a light meal, normally consisting of leftovers from the day before.
In the 1840s, this was replaced with an afternoon tea that started precisely at four o’clock. As the world grew with industrialization during the 19th century, traditional eating habits were disrupted and workers now needed to take a fast lunch with them to eat at work. In 1901, another change happened as large groups of manual laborers would sit in doorways, lean against walls, or even on curbs to have their lunch. We can even see this in the famous 1932 photograph of ironworkers sitting upon a beam together eating their lunches.
According to NationalToday.com, National Take Back The Lunch Break Day was created in 2018 by Tork, a brand from a global hygiene and health company called Essity. Through their research, Tork found that while most workers in North America consider lunch to be important, more than half could not find time to take a more extended lunch break. This research also showed that employees who take a non-working lunch break (stepping away from their desk and not eating during a meeting) score higher on engagement metrics such as job satisfaction and productivity. Therefore, it is safe to say that lunch is a very crucial part of the day.
There are a few ways to participate in national Take Back The Lunch Break Day. For example, try packing an interesting lunch for this Friday! Include something that makes you excited to actually step away and take a lunch break. Another way to make your lunch time interesting is adding people to the mix. Make it a group event by asking your friends or colleagues to go to lunch with you. Who wouldn’t want to try out the new Mexican restaurant around the corner?
Join us as we take back the lunch break and enjoy a great lunch to refresh yourself for the rest of the day!
Kayla Ford is a Masters's student studying Public Relations at the University of Florida. You can find her at @kayladoseoflife on social platforms.
Planted, not Buried is a non-profit organization that focuses on empowering, educating, and inspiring others through outreach, events, networking, and opportunities. Learn more at www.plantednb.com,https://linktr.ee/plantednb , or follow us on all social media at @PlantedNB
