Why Mr. Book hasn't posted in a while...

This is why.

The article points out the demise of the "lunch break" at work. Now, I have fallen victim to this for months at a time. It really hits home. During busy season when you're working 8:30-10, 11pm we always order out lunch, then eat it at our desks while working. Apparently, this is done in the name of productivity and efficiency. Well F that crap.
I've been saying for years, you sit and do work straight all day, you get tired and the words and numbers on your screen get jumbled. Sure, if you do something mindless, (i.e. receiving manager at a bedding, bathing, and beyonding store) you don't really need a mental break. But for those of us that make the world go 'round, you need some time to clear your head. And in the off-chance that you DO go out to lunch with co-workers, you always end up talking about work because they have so little else going on in their lives. That DOESN'T count.
And this wonderful little article reminds us of the old-Greek lunch (you can un-clench, it's not what it sounds like). They go home, eat huge meals, then NAP before they come back. You know how clear my mind would be? Much more than if I kept doing work the whole time. But companies such as Vendorseek have decided to skip lunch altogether.
“It is encouraged that we eat at our desks and use this ‘down time’ to address e-mails, inter-office meetings, and other tasks and necessities that would interrupt the flow of the normal course of the work day,” says Ken Wisnefski, president of the company that helps businesses find outsourcing services.
When the hell did meetings, emails, and other work-related tasks become interruptions? Last I checked, email and meetings were kinda essential to the whole process. It sounds like this guy is saying "oh, we'll let you eat while you're at work" when what he's really doing is making them work while they're at lunch.
Well, it turns out giving up your lunch break could actually diminish your productivity, causing you to end up putting in more hours in the long run, not to mention what it does for your health and well being. “I joke sometimes that smokers are the healthiest people in the work place these days because they get outside,” says Brown-Volkman.
Smokers. Smokers are healthier because they leave every 15 minutes to go outside and get their minds cleared. I've often joked that I was going to pick up smoking just so that I could leave every once and a while. Now it's not looking like such a bad idea. Sorry for the crappy post that is soooo-not funny. But I'm pissed. And I'm sure Johnny McNugget agrees.

BRING BACK LUNCH!!!