Let’s Do Lunch? Maybe Not

Work lunches, unless they’re extravagant affairs covered by an expense account, aren’t usually known for their great cuisine. They exist mostly so that workers can take a few minutes to restore some energy for the remainder of the day.

But it turns out that work lunches might no longer even meet that modest objective. Nearly half—49%—of full-time employees say they skip lunch at least once a week, according to a survey by ezCater, a corporate-catering firm. The top reason was a need for more time to get work done. 

Interestingly, members of the younger generation, so often derided for not working hard enough, are the group most likely to skip the midday meal. Forty-seven percent of Gen-Z employees said they miss lunch at least twice a week. Only 18% of boomer employees said the same, with millennials (38%) and Gen Xers (27%) falling in between.

Company leaders probably don’t want to get into the practice of ordering employees to eat lunch. After all, they’re overseeing a workplace, not a kindergarten. “You don’t want to tell a grown-up when to go to the bathroom,” says Maria Amato, a Korn Ferry senior client partner. But the lunch-skipping statistics are another illustration of modern workplace stresses. Quite often, employees are working in different locations at different times. If many employees—and bosses—are forgoing lunch, it may be because midday is the only time they can catch up with colleagues in different locations, or do their own individual work (because the rest of the day is filled with meetings).

There are growing fears that these stresses are becoming too much. Indeed, according to a 2023 Korn Ferry survey, nearly two-thirds of professionals say their stress levels at work are higher than they were five years earlier. In another 2023 survey, this one from the American Psychological Association, 57% of workers said they experienced negative impacts due to work-related stress. Stress depresses motivation, which in turn can affect innovation and productivity, says Guangrong Dai, a senior director of intellectual property research at Korn Ferry. 

Taking breaks, with or without food, increases both efficiency and employee morale and engagement, says Brittney Molitor, a managing consultant in Korn Ferry’s Human Resources Professional Search division. “Good leaders want their employees to be healthy, both physically and mentally.”

Trying to keep workplace-stress levels manageable can be a difficult task. There may be a couple of relatively easy fixes, however, at least when it comes to lunch. Experts say leaders should let employees know that it’s fine to take a break and have a bite to eat. It helps, they add, if managers lead by example. “If they see the manager going out to grab a bite, or take a break, or grab a coffee, employees will say, ‘Oh, it's OK—I don't have to be tethered to my desk,’” says Dennis Deans, Korn Ferry’s vice president of global human resources.

Taking time out can also reduce the boss’s own stress levels. Amato says that there are lots of leaders who “want to be a hero” by skipping lunch or working on just three hours of sleep. That work lifestyle, she says, is hard to sustain. 

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Employee Experience capabilities. 

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