Here are some surprising trends in workplace eating
The majority of Hungarians are aware that eating during the day can significantly improve or even worsen our performance at work, yet in practice we tend to forget this, says Eisberg's Colourful Bowls Research conducted on Opinio. Three quarters of those surveyed in the representative study spend half an hour or less on lunch, and a fifth less than 15 minutes. The research also showed that the majority of Hungarian workers swear by home cooking at work.
\"We wanted to examine how conscious Hungarians are about nutrition and eating at work, how much it matters what they eat and how much time they eat it in," said Kinga Shenker-Horváth, a dietician at the Hungarian University of Physical Education and Sports Sciences and Eisberg brand ambassador.
It is often true that in the rush of daily work, we tend to eat lunch in order to have more time for work and other activities. According to the survey results, more than half (53%) of those surveyed do the same and take only 15-30 minutes for lunch. In fact, almost a quarter of respondents (21%) spend even less time eating and eat their lunch within 15 minutes.
The time factor is one thing, but what is on our plate at the time we plan to eat is also an important consideration. Although the majority of respondents (54%) still prefer an omnivorous diet, many people stick to Hungarian cuisine (23%) and others follow a special diet (e.g. vegetarian, vegan). The survey also showed that the majority of respondents (59%) eat food brought from home at work. This trend is particularly prevalent among women (65%). "Home-cooked food is not only cost-effective, but can also be a more conscious choice, allowing us to track what we eat more closely. This is harder to control with food bought from nearby restaurants, takeaways or the canteen at work," added the dietician.
53% of those surveyed take only 15-30 minutes for lunch.
The absolute work-defining issue of recent years is the home office and the time and energy spent cooking and eating lunch during this time. More than half (52%) of those surveyed say their workplace allows them to work from home, so they manage their meals at home during the day, but just under a third say this gives them more time and makes them more conscious about what they eat, so the rise of the home office due to the ageing population has not brought us any closer to healthy, balanced eating
.There are stressful days at work in every workplace. Relieving the pressure leads many of us to snack during the day. But the responses show that most of us can resist the temptation, with nearly half of respondents (45%) rarely snacking during work hours. Only a fifth of respondents say they often snack.
Brought-from-home snacks and infrequent snacking at work implicitly suggest that most of us are aware that well-chosen meals have an impact on our energy levels and concentration. The research also specifically asked about the relationship between food and performance: nearly half of respondents (45%) say that eating healthily every day improves their performance at work.
Nutrition experts also stressed that making the switch to mindful eating makes a big difference to both our physical and mental health.