One of my favorite questions to ask a new client
I love getting to know a new client. It’s exciting to learn about their story and hear about what has brought them to this point in their life and career journey. My friends would tell you this sometimes makes for some odd questions over dinner! But after working with so many different people from diverse career and life backgrounds there is one question that always helps me to get a better idea of where they are on the starting line of burnout and work wellness.
So here it is: Tell me about your lunch routine when working.
Yes, one of my favorite questions involves lunch habits. Why is that? Because how people view lunch during their workday routines tells me about both their own challenges with prioritizing their own needs, as well as their organization or group culture around employee time.
So think about how you approach lunch during your working hours:
Do you eat lunch regularly?
What are you doing while eating?
Do you bring food with you to work, or do you order out for lunch?
Do you have a typical go-to lunch meal choice?
Where do you eat your lunch?
How much time do you spend on lunch each day?
Who do you spend your lunchtime with?
The answers to these questions helps me to understand on the individual level your approach to self-care, health, time, connection, environment, and routine. This also connects with what we value. There are no wrong answers, as we are all different people with different degrees of needs throughout our workday. But it might surprise you how burnout at work can manifest in how you choose to (or choose not to) take breaks and fuel your body.
So let’s switch gears and think about your workplace environment and culture:
Do your coworkers/ peers take time away from their work to eat lunch?
Does your manager or supervisor have set times for their own lunch?
Are you expected to eat during meetings, or accept meetings during the time you’d choose to eat mid-day?
Does your compensation reduce if you take time away from work to eat lunch?
Are you expected to network with other professionals or host clients over lunch?
Does your organization have set spaces for employees to eat and gather together?
Is your work environment (virutal or in office) one that will penalize you “stepping away” midday?
Sometimes the organization hasn’t given much thought to what lunch might look like, expecting their employees to “do what they need to do” to care for themselves throughout the workday. However, not having clear expectations around breaks and non-productive time can create fear of repercussions, or worry about perception of work ethic if not spelled out. Are your leaders modeling healthy boundaries around break time during the workday?
How we choose to feed ourselves mid-day says a lot about or relationship with ourself and with our workplace. My lunchtime routines have looked very different over the years. When I was an elementary school counselor my lunch routine was eating a sandwich in 5 minutes or less, typically walking from one part of the building to another. As a therapist in a private practice it was whatever dinner leftovers I could find while sitting behind my computer writing notes. Those routines didn’t serve me well and had a lot to do with my own challenges with boundaries as well as workplace culture. Now if I have the choice I’d spend my lunch outside for 30 minutes away from screens. Sometimes alone to decompress, and sometimes with friends or peers to connect and recharge for what comes next. That is because I value the outdoors, variety and connection. For you the “ideal” lunch routine might be something completely different. But the next step is to ask yourself am I spending my lunch in a way that I’d choose if I had a choice?
