Six biggest workplace lunchtime taboos from eating smelly food to taking no break at all

Earlier this month, Lloyd’s of London, the insurance market, slapped a ban on its employees drinking alcohol during the working day

When you work in close proximity with the same people day in day out, it’s inevitable that you’ll get peeved off by some of your colleagues’ seemingly unremitting habits.

At lunchtime, scope for annoying work mates (both in a food-related and in a non-food related ways) is particularly high, according to CV-Library, one of the country’s biggest online job sites.

So, having surveyed 1,000 workers, the company on Monday published a list of the most annoying lunchtime habits in offices across the country.

Top of the list as the biggest lunchtime taboo, was drinking alcohol on your lunch break with a total of 39 per cent citing it as their biggest annoyance.

Earlier this month, Lloyd’s of London, the insurance market, slapped a ban on its employees drinking alcohol during the working day, sparking frustration among those workers who frequently rely on face-to-face contact and relationships that are forged in pubs or bars to do their jobs and win business.

Other top irritations cited in the survey include:

• Eating smelly food (36.8 per cent)
• Making a mess of the shared kitchen (32.2 per cent)
• Eating too unhealthily (28.2 per cent)
• Not taking a lunch break at all (25.4 per cent)
• Taking too long on your lunch break (22 per cent)

“Although how you choose to spend your lunchtime, and what you eat is down to personal choice, it’s clear that there are certain faux pas that professionals find hard to ignore,” said Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library.

“We spend a great deal of our time at work, and if your lunchtime habits are having a negative impact on your colleagues it could be time to rethink your choices,” he added.