Depends on the work and workplace, I think. working for an ISP in Warrington in the 90s, I first had a cramped desk right next to my boss, and it was a pressured environment, new stuff to do coming in all the time. If I wanted half an hour to eat a sandwich and read a book and de-stress, I pretty much had to go sit in my car, and I did, because the job was driving me batty.
Then later we moved to some nicer and more spacious offices near a shopping mall, and I got a pay rise and things were slightly less frantic. I usually popped over to the mall and bought(! the extravagance!) a salad or a sandwich for lunch, and had a stroll around, but sometimes brought food and ate at my desk, as I no longer had my boss staring in my left ear and popping up with new work for me to do at approximately 30 second intervals. On Fridays, and sometimes other days, it was normal for the whole office, (minus two unfortunates who had to man the support and sales desks respectively), to go to the pub and roll back at about 2:30 somewhat pickled. Never phone a 90's ISP at lunchtime. :-D
When I worked at Liverpool university as a trainer, on the other hand, going out for lunch was unusual: most people ate at their desks, or with the trainees if they were running a course with food provided. I think basically it was a rather more pleasant and less pressured environment, so that the need to just get away from it and take a deep breath was less. I used to walk into the city and go shopping sometimes though, and same thing when I was working in Plymouth.
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Date: 2014-05-29 07:10 pm (UTC)working for an ISP in Warrington in the 90s, I first had a cramped desk right next to my boss, and it was a pressured environment, new stuff to do coming in all the time. If I wanted half an hour to eat a sandwich and read a book and de-stress, I pretty much had to go sit in my car, and I did, because the job was driving me batty.
Then later we moved to some nicer and more spacious offices near a shopping mall, and I got a pay rise and things were slightly less frantic. I usually popped over to the mall and bought(! the extravagance!) a salad or a sandwich for lunch, and had a stroll around, but sometimes brought food and ate at my desk, as I no longer had my boss staring in my left ear and popping up with new work for me to do at approximately 30 second intervals. On Fridays, and sometimes other days, it was normal for the whole office, (minus two unfortunates who had to man the support and sales desks respectively), to go to the pub and roll back at about 2:30 somewhat pickled. Never phone a 90's ISP at lunchtime. :-D
When I worked at Liverpool university as a trainer, on the other hand, going out for lunch was unusual: most people ate at their desks, or with the trainees if they were running a course with food provided. I think basically it was a rather more pleasant and less pressured environment, so that the need to just get away from it and take a deep breath was less. I used to walk into the city and go shopping sometimes though, and same thing when I was working in Plymouth.