Note: This post will definitely make more sense if considered in context with its predecessor.
Journalist Rodney Wagner poses other pertinent questions and makes several points about desk dining. It can certainly get a person fed “without sacrificing productivity,” because the diner is still able to concentrate on the work being accomplished at the desk, while chewing and swallowing.
On the other hand, we might add, many authorities believe that a person’s full attention and conscious participation ought to be directed toward eating. Otherwise, they have not fully experienced the intake of nutrition, and are apt to overeat in compensation for that lack, and become obese.
At any rate, according to this authority, snacking at work can allegedly help to maintain mental energy and improve alertness (though it seems the same might be said of periodic exercise breaks, or inhaling a hit of oxygen). However, admittedly, there are also “numerous downsides to eating at your desk.”
The person’s attention may be distracted from the work at hand (especially, we presume, if eating involves consulting a menu and placing an order.) Worse yet, the average worker’s meal often tends to involve items purchased from snack vending machines, the contents of which are universally acknowledged to be unhealthful and fat-promoting.
At any rate, the availability of food and water to those who need them is a factor that a manager can affect. While many people do not care for the nanny-state implications, it is probably on the whole a good thing, when those in charge bear some degree of responsibility for the well-being of the workers.
Strength in motion
For the well-being of employees who like to burn calories by walking between the floors of a building, the security of stairwells should be assured. Overall, the important thing is to cultivate an awareness of how extensively employee health affects productivity, morale, and healthcare costs. Basic amenities like breathable air count for a lot. So really, the biggest error an executive can make is to assume that she or he might not be able to affect the situation positively.
Understandably, one of the myths that Dr. Lee identified is the fallacy of ineffectualness. An employer should never buy into the idea that little can be done to shrink obesity in the workplace. There is a cliche that fits the case very neatly: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
The boss can make a difference
Often, there is a belief that not even the most well-intentioned business can do much to prevent obesity, which by extension implies there is nothing they can do to stem the rising costs of obesity that adversely affect the company’s bottom line. Dr. Lee resists this defeatist notion because the reach of the job may in fact be extensive:
Your workplace can affect your commuting, sleep patterns, relationships with family and friends, available food at home, energy to exercise, overall stress levels and many other aspects of your life… No matter how you prioritize work-life balance, your workplace does have an impact on the rest of your life […] and in turn obesity.
Of course, obviously, the job affects the weight class of the worker’s entire family, because if the pay is not sufficient to feed them well, the consequences will show up. Which brings the topic back to the cost of a health plan, if indeed such an amenity exists at all. A company with common sense ought to recognize that it is cheaper to pay for obesity prevention than for bariatric surgery.
At the same time, corporate leadership must have the sensitivity to prevent its caring approach from coming across as criticism or worse yet, as a threat. In some times and places, rules are in effect to shield workers from various types of discrimination — even from what might appear as fat-shaming.
Dr. Lee’s last word to the bosses is,
In the end, the heart of a business is its employees. Having employees who are overweight and unhealthy is akin to a football team trying to compete with chronically injured players. If you view obesity as a completely separate issue from your business, you do so at your peril. To make a real difference, you need to have real substantial change in the culture and operations of a workplace.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Source: “Is It Good to Eat While Working? Uncovering the Truth,” MeatChefTools.com, 02/03/25
Source: “Obesity Is Everyone’s Business,” Forbes.com, 09/01/15
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