Dangerous workplace habits must be eradicated

Young Australians don’t always get the best protection when it comes to their work ethic, but… there is a cohort of Gen Z and millennial workers who burn out at work thanks to a myth perpetuated by their older bosses.

“I had to lie on the floor for 20 minutes this morning and remind myself to breathe deeply just to get up and catch the train to work,” explains Mia*, a 35-year-old government official from Melbourne.

“I started almost a year ago and in the last six months things have really taken a turn for the worse. It’s a very ‘bums-in-seats’ workplace. My boss works during his lunch break and the unspoken agreement is that we all have to do the same.

“As a result, he has slowly scaled back our ability to work from home and has booked meetings at the start and end of most workdays to ensure people are present throughout the day.”

New research from Subway has found that four in five Australians skip their lunch break altogether or don’t take the full amount of time they are allowed.

And worryingly, it’s bosses who encourage this habit, with younger Australians feeling the most pressure to work through their breaks, exposing them to the risk of anxiety and burnout.

The research showed Gen Z and Millennials Generation X and Baby Boomers are more likely to believe that their bosses will think they are more committed to them work if they miss their lunch break – with 10 percent of the younger cohort believing this problematic myth, compared to 4 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Younger Australians were also the most likely to say that condensing, skipping or working through their lunch break generally had a negative impact on them.

Sixty-seven percent of Gen Z respondents said the practice led to negative overall effects, compared to 53 percent of millennials, 48 ​​percent of Gen 28 percent of baby boomers.

The new research aligns with data released earlier this year by TELUS, the global leader in workplace wellness.

The Mental Health Index shows that 47 percent of Australian workers feel mentally or physically exhausted at the end of the working day.

This was especially true for younger generations, a finding that TELUS Health senior vice president and APAC director Jamie MacLennan called “disturbing.”

“Many workers, especially young people, struggle with an overwhelming workload that leaves them mentally and physically exhausted,” MacLennan said in a statement at the time.

“This relentless stress not only impacts their mental health, but also significantly reduces productivity.”

Bosses need to do more to dispel the ‘bums on the chair’ mentality

Sinead Connolly, founder of award-winning recruitment agency Lotus People, says bosses must do more to lead by example when it comes to encouraging staff to Take regular breaks and avoid burnout.

“From my perspective, I’ve seen over the years that it’s become very unusual for people to take a full hour for lunch,” Connolly says. “Although it is frowned upon in some industries, especially in places where there may be a culture of busyness, or a culture where time spent at the desk is seen as hard work, or is perceived as the action of someone who has a better attitude than someone who takes a longer lunch.

She says the whole issue ties into the broader conversation around wellness, which can impact an organization’s bottom line in more ways than one.

“It’s up to employers to actually lead from the top, and usually that doesn’t happen at the executive level, and then it doesn’t happen at the management level,” she says.

“Everyone is busy, we are trying to do more with less capacity, and everyone is running lean. Companies are getting lean.

“It doesn’t surprise me, and I don’t think it’s right. I think it will take a lot of work to actually change this, and it will have to be a conscious focus that I unfortunately don’t see in companies at the moment.”

Subway Australia and New Zealand marketing director Rodica Titeica found the data both alarming and expected, saying changes within the organization are aimed at combating the worrying trend.

“As part of Subway’s mission to help Australians reclaim lunch, it was important that our business led by example. That is why, for several months now, we have introduced a non-meeting hour between 12 noon and 1 p.m. to ensure that our employees have an uninterrupted hour to eat, take a break and for themselves,” said Titeica.

“Of course, employees can still have lunch when it suits them, it doesn’t have to be during these hours, but company-wide we respect this sacred meeting-free hour that we have created every day.

“We encourage other employers and businesses to find ways to create a supportive environment that encourages lunch breaks. It starts from the top.”

Mia, who is baffled by how a post-pandemic approach seems to have fueled toxic work cultures, agrees.

“I am actively looking for a new position, but if I don’t find one quickly, I will still resign,” she says. “Nothing is worth damaging your health like this.”

*Name has been changed to protect the employee’s anonymity.