In some previous article which you can dig up, I mentioned that staying healthy and eating healthy is essential, not only health wise but also because of your performance in your day job, your mental state and even the relationships you build with other people. Today I will talk about the importance of having food breaks in your day, but most importantly during noon as your lunch break. There are actually many different preferences in the exact time for a lunch break depending on the industry you are working in. Also, depending if you are working in an office or at an industrial site, you may or may not even get a lunch break.
I know of a lot of people that work in construction (the labor force) that because of the strict and tight deadlines that need to be reached, are not given a chance to have a short snack right around noon. That causes these people to be less productive both short term and long term: when a worker doesn’t have energy to go on, you are risking of a mistake in the operation of an excavator or example. Over the course of years, you are tiring your workers and thus getting fewer and fewer results for your company. So it is essential for these people to be treated fairly and in a good way that will benefit both them but also the progress of the construction company. Someone working for a demolition company out in Atlanta, (http://www.atlantademolitionservices.com) whom I met at a networking event the other day, said that they all aren’t allowed a lunch break until certain part of a project is completed every single day. So in other words, the bulldozer operators are pretty much going to starve until certain parts of the building are demolished and things like that. I told him that was absurd what he confirmed with a head motion that this is the way they’ve been operating for so many years now.
Guys, aside of the work rights and all of that nonsense arguments we could get into right now, this is really unhealthy. When you are working countless hours in the sun (starting from very early in the morning) taking a break is a necessity in order to function well. As I said before, not only will the workers under perform in the short term because of a lack in a break, but also in the long run these people will tire off getting the company in slower and slower construction modes. Unfortunately, this is something that has been taken place for way too long in many different industries – not only in construction. In fact, because of the hard manual work put on construction sites, one would say that they get more breaks than people working at offices. Think of a toxic boss: his argument in the office would be “why do you need a break as you are working indoors?” and the workers – employees would be in a tougher situation. In other words, people in construction can ask for a break and it will be given to them with greater ease because of the knowledgeably hard work they put in. But when someone is running computer reports all day long, someone would suggest that taking a break is lazy time.
I am not going to get into that debate at this moment (as my points of view have been shared with all of you before) but what I will say, is that every couple of hours the human body needs to eat something. It doesn’t need to be a meal – it could be a cracker. But every couple hours a fruit, some liquids and maybe some bread are essential to keep on being focused and having energy levels good for productivity. Trying to survive from the time you have breakfast, ’till the time you eat lunch is stupid and unhealthy. You need to have some smaller meal in between. It’s important!
When you go back tomorrow, make sure you make this a topic of discussion with your colleagues and feel free to refer them to this site or even e-mail me. I am confident that most of you will be working in places that lunch breaks around noon are allowed, but for all of you that aren’t at that point yet, make sure you create awareness of this incredibly important issue. It is your duty to take care of your body and longevity.
Thank you for reading and I hope you start living a healthier life yourself. More tomorrow…