More than half of office workers eat the same lunch every day

Millions of office workers are eating the same lunch every single day, a study commissioned by New Covent Garden Soup has found.

A lack of inspiration, convenience and cost means 77% of workers are tucking into the same sandwich or salad on repeat, and have been doing so for the last nine months. One in six admitted they’ve had the same lunch for at least two years now, while 58% feel they have eaten identical meals for as long as they can remember.

One respondent has had the same box of chopped vegetables, tuna and a boiled egg every day for the last two years, while another admitted to eating a work lunch consisting of a ham sandwich with a piece of fruit every day since they started work – 20 years ago. Three in 10 even said other people have noticed and commented on their ‘boring’ lunches.

The results emerged in a study by New Covent Garden Soup, which also revealed a staggering 81% of people are ‘bored’ by their lunch choices.

Food psychologist Dr Becky Spelman said: “People tend to be much more willing to experiment with their main meal of the day. Breakfast and lunch are often meals that bring out our inner conservative. Eating the same thing every day means we risk not getting a wide enough array of nutrients, as well as simply being very monotonous. Most of us wouldn’t want to always go on holidays to the same place, so why keep eating the same meal, day after day?

“Making small changes such as trying something new for our lunch time meal can – in a small way – help to open our mind to new experiences in other areas of life too! For example, some people limit their foreign travel to countries where they know they’ll find familiar foods. The world actually becomes a bigger, more exciting place when we are more open to a wide variety of flavours”

More than seven in 10 say they have the same meals time and time again because it’s easier, while another 45% think it works out cheaper or more cost effective than mixing it up. Others put the same lunches down it being habit (37%), healthy (19%), or simply having no idea what else to have (19%).

But our affair with uninspiring lunches isn’t being helped by the fact that during the working week, Brits take a lunch break just three out of the five working days. And even then, those rare lunch breaks last an average of 32 minutes, with almost half of all workers eating their lunch at their desk. So it’s no surprise that six in 10 admit they could be more creative with their lunches.

Top 10 most common repeat lunches
1 Ham sandwich
2 Cheese sandwich
3 Chicken sandwich
4 Salad
5 Baguette