• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Jobacle.com

Career advice blog - with an edge.

  • HOME
  • CAREER ADVICE BLOG
  • CAREER NEWS
  • FIND A JOB
  • BLOG ARCHIVE
  • ABOUT US
  • CONTACT US

Your Cubicle, The Petri Dish

by Andrew G. Rosen Leave a Comment

Your Cubicle, The Petri Dish

bacteria.jpgOn show #55 of the Working Podcast a listener asked how they could buck a nasty trend and start taking their lunch hour AWAY from their desk. Download the show here or listen directly on our home page. While the Voice of Reason did a nice job of addressing the psychological ramifications, I’d like to touch on the potential medical fallout.

Why should you get away from your desk for lunch?  Stew on these numbers…

# of germs per square inch in most cubicles:

• 25,127 on the phone
• 20,961 on the desktop
• 3,295 on the computer keyboard
• 1,676 on the mouse

Source: University of Arizona/The Clorox Company

But you’re not the only scaredy cat who’s too busy to break away for lunch:

• 78 percent of employees eat lunch at their desks at least two to three times a week.
• Nearly 50 percent eat lunch at their desks every day.
• 53 percent of all employees take a half-hour or less for lunch.
• 24 percent of workers always clean their desks before eating at them.
• 20 percent of workers never clean their desks before eating at them.
• 1-in-3 workers eat breakfast at his or her desk.

Source: American Dietetic Association; ConAgra Foods Foundation

The gang here at Jobacle.com urges you to take your lunch hour today – even if you normally don’t!  We all made a pact months ago to take our full lunch hour whenever possible, and lemme tell you, it’s a beautiful thing!  So get out there and run some errands, hit up the salad bar (speaking of germs!) or take a nap – you deserve it!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Want to become part of the 1% that knows how to make work better?

Start receiving occasional career advice emails from Jobacle.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Search

Social

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Post Categories

  • All About Bosses (19)
  • Annual Review (1)
  • Career 2.0 Review (47)
  • Career Advice (1,373)
  • Career News (31)
  • Career Podcast (12)
  • Choose Your Career (293)
  • Commuting to Work (3)
  • Contests (5)
  • Coworker Gifts (12)
  • Coworkers (54)
  • Fake Job Offers (12)
  • Forward of the Week (19)
  • Gen Y Career (10)
  • General (158)
  • How to Quit a Job (9)
  • How to Quit Your Job (12)
  • Interview Help (50)
  • Job Vent (19)
  • Job Website Review (11)
  • Jobacle Mishmash (35)
  • Jobacle Survey Panel (2)
  • Leaving a Job (2)
  • Master List (2)
  • Office Prank (1)
  • Office Supply Review (1)
  • Podcasts (24)
  • Random (4)
  • Resume Templates (19)
  • Side Hustle (4)
  • Sponsored Post (1)
  • The Cubicle Continuum (44)
  • The Recession File (26)
  • The Resume Hunter (8)
  • Uncategorized (271)
  • Unemployment (5)
  • WFH (1)
  • Work for Yourself (35)
  • Work Humor (31)
  • Work Lyrics (13)
  • Work Productivity (12)
  • Work Stats (1)
  • WorkHacks (10)
  • Your Job Search (90)

© 2005–2025 Jobacle.com

Privacy Policy