Are British employees too busy to take breaks?

Research by Bupa has shown that 64 per cent of British workers are too busy to take the 20 minute break which is required by law when working six hours or more.

The survey which involved 2,000 people showed that 29 per cent were not taking a lunch break, 28 per cent were not taking any break at all, and nearly half said that they had too much to do to even stop for a few minutes.

Of those that were taking breaks, many were continuing to work answering calls and replying to emails with 45 per cent of those taking lunch rarely leaving their place of work.

Patrick Watt, Corporate Director at Bupa said that the fact that employers were not encouraging breaks was “worrying.”

He said, “not only does this affect productivity levels, but it can have far wider implications on business performance.”

“Taking a proper break helps employees to stay alert, focused, and performing at their peak.”