Some worry bosses won’t approve; and they may be right

Nearly 90 percent of employees say the ability to take a lunch break is a critical factor when accepting a new job — yet more than half of North American workers end up only having a quick 30-minute lunch.

Fear of being judged by their bosses and coworkers is influencing employees to avoid taking lunch breaks at work that last longer, according to a new survey.

Eighty-eight percent of bosses think their employees would say they’re encouraged to take a regular lunch break; only 62 percent of workers, though, feel that’s the case.

Bosses don’t seem to be very supportive of taking lunch breaks at work. More than a third (34 percent) said they consider how often employees take a lunch break when evaluating their job performance; 22 percent of bosses view employees who take a lunch break on a regular basis as less hardworking.

For more on how employees and employers view taking an hour for lunch — or taking any time at all to eat — view this information about the survey, conducted by Tork.