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Constantly finding yourself eating lunch at your desk whilst being bombarded by telephone calls and emails? You're not alone.

According to The Telegraph, over six million workers in the UK chose not to take a lunch break. Why not? Well, half claim they have too much work to do, whilst 34 per cent say they are under too much pressure from their Managers. This could be costing businesses up to £50 million per day and damaging the health of UK workers.

Our survey...

Intrigued by these results, here at the CK Group we ran our own poll via Linkedin. We asked respondents, 'Do you take your full lunch break?', and got an impressive 790 votes. We found that our results correlated with those reported by The Telegraph, with per cent (546 respondents) saying they did not take their full lunch break, and 31 per cent (244 respondents) saying they did. Many thanks to all those that took part in the poll.

How will not taking a lunch break make you feel?

People who don't take a break will often feel tired, stressed and irritable. In addition, research has shown that working long 10-11 hour days can increase the chances of heart disease.

What are the benefits of taking a break?

Although it may not always be practical to take your full hours lunch, it is advisable that you try to take regular breaks during the day in order to:

• Increase moral and well-being
• Increase productivity and efficiency
• Gain a different perspective on a difficult situation
• Decrease your stress levels
• Become more active, by going for brisk walks in your breaks
• Get to know your work colleagues by inviting them out for lunch/coffee
• Use your lunch hour to do all those things you've been putting off − paying bills online, replying to emails from family and friends
• Get emotional support and reduce stress by talking through any problems at work with your friends during your lunch break

How to claim back your breaks...

• Arrange to go for lunch/coffee with a friend or colleague on a certain day every week
• Schedule your breaks into your calendar − treat them as seriously as you would an important meeting
• To avoid interruptions from work mates during your lunch hour, get well away from the office − try going to the gym or for a walk round the park

For more information about our survey and it's results, please contact Catherine Gutsell by email: cgutsell@ckagroup.co.uk

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