LABJ FORUM: The Ever-Shrinking Lunch Hour
Grocery stores and fast-food chains are beefing up efforts to attract workers on the run by offering fresh, packaged food that can be eaten easily and quickly. More people, it seems, are getting tied to their desks and stuck in their cars during the lunch hour. So the Business Journal asks: Do you take a lunch break? And if so, how long is it?
Manny Rodriguez
Graphic Designer
Cardinal Laboratories
I never eat lunch out. It’s because I’m so busy. I usually bring a sandwich or something with me and I eat it while I’m working at my desk. I answer to everybody so I really don’t get the chance.
William J. Robinson
Partner, Intellectual Property Department
Foley & Lardner
I’ve been a brown-bagger since the second grade in Catholic school, and I’m doing the same thing at age 50. My mom made my lunch back then, and my wife makes it now. So I really don’t step out for lunch, and I guess I should, but unless it’s a client meeting, I get in and work from eight to six straight.
Nicholas Biro
Associate, Land Development Department
RBF Consulting
I still make time for a lunch break. There are times when projects may require additional effort on my part, but I believe that some simple time management techniques can let even the most ambitious get away for at least half an hour. It’s time away from the workplace and besides, vending machine snacks and coffee just don’t work.
Renee Fraser
President, CEO
Fraser Communications
Unless I have a business lunch, lunch is 15 minutes at my desk while answering e-mails at the same time.
Jolene Koester
President
California State University, Northridge
No, I don’t take a break. If I’m eating food it’s with people I want to see or need to see. Other than that, I might eat a protein bar as I move from one meeting to the next.
Scott Reiner
President, CEO
Glendale Adventist Medical Center
The only reason I do have a lunch hour is because the hospital is embarking on a new campus master plan, so many meetings with physicians and board leadership are held during lunch. That is one of the few times we can meet.
Mathew Kraskouskas
Sales Associate
Depuy Orthopedics
My day is always different, I never eat at the same time. I usually grab fast food or eat in the hospital cafeteria depending on what my schedule is and how hungry I am. I used to live in Spain for a while, and we would take three-hour lunches. The pace of life there is very nice and very much in tune with my body.
