Twenty-two minutes is the average length of the Belgian’s lunch break, the shortest in Europe, according to the job site StepStone’s study.
Belgian workers take the least time for their lunch break: 22 minutes on average, while their British, German and French colleagues take respectively 24, 25 and 29 minutes. The given break time also varies greatly among employers.
Most European employees tend to shorten their lunch break (from 49% to 60%).
While Germany is on top of this ranking, Belgium follows closely in second place. In France — unlike other surveyed countries — more than 50% of employees take their entire "lunch break".
The main reason employees do not take the total length of their break is similar in all countries: work overload. On average, 65 to 75% of employees feel so; 41% in France.
Survey participants also mentioned other reasons, such as the ability to leave work early or having to assume the tasks of colleagues.
StepStone conducted this survey based on a sample of over 10,000 people in Belgium and in several neighbouring countries.
The Brussels Times
