{"id":1984,"date":"2014-05-14T10:45:25","date_gmt":"2014-05-14T10:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com\/blog\/?p=1984"},"modified":"2026-02-27T02:22:48","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T07:22:48","slug":"lunch-hour-becoming-misnomer-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydoorsign.com/blog\/lunch-hour-becoming-misnomer-america\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cLunch hour\u201d becoming a misnomer in America"},"content":{"rendered":"

A report from MarketWatch<\/a>\u00a0declares the decline of the \u201clunch hour,\u201d a phenomenon we all know to be true. But the report also highlights the new services that cater to the time-starved employees who want to do more with the limited time they have and are profiting from this trend.<\/p>\n

Employees are forsaking their already truncated lunch breaks to run errands. From taking beauty services to visiting the dry cleaner, American employees are trading their squeezed lunch time for a myriad of chores.<\/p>\n

\"lunch<\/a>

It’s time to take back your lunch hour. From bradleypjohnson<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n

Honey, who shrunk the lunch hour?<\/h3>\n

In an\u00a0OfficeTeam<\/a>\u00a0survey, 48 percent of respondents said their typical lunch break is 30 minutes or less. In fact, a 2006 study<\/a> by the fast food chain KFC found that 60 percent of workers in corporate America actually considered the 60-minute lunch \u201cthe biggest myth of office life.\u201d The KFC study also found that \u201cmore than half of American office workers multitask even during lunch by eating, running errands, shopping online and checking e-mail at the same time.\u201d Another survey by office supply giant, Staples, revealed<\/a> that 19 percent of employees don\u2019t break for lunch at all.<\/p>\n

Lunch hour gets a makeover<\/h3>\n

The lunchtime crunch isn\u2019t bad news for everyone. Businesses are cashing in on the disappearing lunch hour culture, one particular beneficiary being the \u2018salon\u2019 and \u2018spa\u2019 industry. Many in this industry are pioneering the idea of \u201cpower hour<\/a>,\u201d during which customers receive beauty treatments (like manicures, pedicures, blowouts, and facials) while also getting a quick lunch during their appointment.<\/p>\n

These lunchtime beauty sessions can cost customers up to around $150. Serenity Salon and Spa of Gettysburg, PA offers \u201cLunchtime Facials\u201d in which guests get two cleansing, an exfoliation, skin analysis, customized treatment mask, arm and hand massage, and moisturizer all in 30 minutes for $45.<\/p>\n

Food industry winners and losers<\/h3>\n

Along with the salon industry, another sector that\u2019s thriving with the shrinking lunch hour is fast-casual restaurants that can provide a quick bite. Pressed for time, employees are ditching casual dining or fine-dining restaurants for popular fast-casual joints like Chipotle Mexican Grill, Zoe\u2019s Kitchen, Panera Bread and the like\u00a0\u2014 all of which have experienced good traffic growth<\/a> in 2013. Technomic, a restaurant research firm has reported an 11 percent increase in fast-casual restaurant sales in 2013. Even Taco Bell is venturing into the segment with \u00a0anew fast-casual restaurant called U.S. Taco Co. and Urban Tap Room.<\/p>\n

The traditional sit-down restaurants seem to be losing ground with some reporting lunchtime sales declines of nearly 20 percent over the last few years. To keep pace with the lunch-on-the-go trend, many of these full-service restaurants are offering express lunch service. Reserve Cut, a steakhouse in New York, for instance has introduced a \u201c$40@40\u201d deal that allows customers to get a three-course midday meal for 40 bucks in a guaranteed 40 minutes. For those who are eating at their desks, restaurants have started lunchtime delivery service too.<\/p>\n

But the new employees of corporate America, whether they’re taking lunch in haste or eating at their desks with eyes transfixed on computer screen, aren’t quite healthy and happy people. Not taking an hour lunch is not increasing their productivity. Long lunch breaks, in fact, make employees more productive, invigorated, energized, efficient, and happy. Skipping lunch might seem productive but actually burns you in the long run, says Nancy Rothbard, a professor of management at the Wharton School of business at the University of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

Take back your lunch<\/h3>\n

Consulting firm\u00a0The Energy Project<\/a> counsels companies like Google, Coca Cola, Sony, and Pfizer on how to make their workforce more productive by channeling their energy. One of the first steps they take is introducing the \u201cTake Back Your Lunch\u201d program where they encourage employees to take a full hour lunch every day in order to be more productive, energized, and focused the rest of the day. Here are some facts about Sony – where the project was implemented \u2013 that speak for the effectiveness of the program:<\/p>\n

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