People working in serviced offices and other premises are working longer hours and missing out on their lunch breaks, according to a new survey.
A study by staffbay.com found that one in five workers are unable to take a regular lunch break, while an astonishing 60 per cent of people skip them altogether.
The poll of 1,800 people revealed some more astonishing figures.
More than 50 per cent said they rarely left the office on time, while a quarter said they were lucky to get away on time a couple of times a month.
Tony Wilmot, founder of staffbay.com, said that lunch breaks were “rapidly becoming a thing of the past”.
With organisations in both the private and public sector making extensive cutbacks, pressures on remaining employees was increasing.
Mr Wilmot said: “Therefore workers feel the need to work longer hours and ‘dine al desko’ in order to show employers their worth.”
There were also notable differences between the sexes, with 33 per cent of men saying they were able to take a lunch break every day compared with 46 per cent of women.