Are We Working Too Hard?
A staggering 78% of the UK working population no longer take advantage of a full lunch hour, with 15% of those surveyed not taking a break at all, new research revealed today.
In fact employees rarely step away from their desks, spending endless time queuing and at worst, are not even eating during their lunch break; a hungry 32% don’t eat at least once a week, the survey by Visa found.
For those that do choose to venture out at lunchtime, they’re being faced with a barrage of time wasting inconveniences. 79% of this group wait for up to 10mins in a queue for a cash point, with 48% withdrawing less than £30 when they do finally reach the ATM.
Surprisingly, 10% of the population have happily waited for up to 20mins for cash and 3% have waited for up to 40 minutes at a lunch visit. The average person will spend an astounding 12 hours a year in a queue for an ATM, the equivalent amount of time it would take to fly to South Africa!
Work/life balance is very much a myth with working Brits: 57% of those surveyed admitting that they never leave the office at lunchtime, to meet friends, exercise or go shopping.
Instead, this sullen group is likely to be found either continuing to work (22%) or having a quick scan through a newspaper (30%). A mere 5% take advantage of the convenience of the internet for paying bills or shopping online.
The research into the lunching habits of Brits is part of a wider initiative by Visa to educate consumers on how they can take small steps to help their lives flow more easily.
A key finding from the survey was that the UK wastes extensive time queuing for cash for low value purchases that can easily be made using a Visa card, both in-store and online.