While much attention is paid to the future of work post-Covid, Little Leaf Farms, the country’s #1 brand of packaged lettuce sustainably grown through controlled environment agriculture, has its sights set squarely on the future of office lunch. In a recent survey conducted by Opinium Research, the brand uncovered that three in four (76%) non-remote corporate workers are eating lunch at their desk at least half the time or more.
While memes abound for “sad desk lunch” and more specifically “sad desk salad,” Little Leaf Farm’s survey points to a different story. Sixty-eight percent of workers who take lunch at their desk indicate that they prefer eating lunch at their desk, citing that “it’s convenient” (56%) and they “feel more productive” (43%) as their primary reasons.
“Somewhere along the lines the desk salad got seriously maligned and became the symbol of a less-than stellar office lunch experience. We’re here to change that perception. Little Leaf Farms is just as serious about leveling up lunchtime as we are about growing a longer-lasting, fresher, more sustainable lettuce,” said Jeannie Hannigan, Senior Brand Manager at Little Leaf Farms.
The survey also found that 73% of office workers plan to bring their own lunch to work as often or more often this year with the top motivator being that “it’s healthier” (68%). Perhaps not surprisingly, Gen Z is especially likely to say they plan to bring lunch from home more often to save money (58%).
Helping those desk lunch devotees, Little Leaf Farms has created a Happy Desk Salad Kit containing everything needed to turn any desk lunch into a five-star dining event.
“Upon learning just how many corporate workers are committed to eating better and saving money this year, we knew we needed to do our part to spice things up a little. There’s no reason a desk salad can’t be a five-star dining event.”
Respect the Lunch Break
The choice to dine deskside does still come with plenty of etiquette landmines and the survey indicates that the one biggest obstacle workers have when eating lunch at their desk is not the location, but meetings scheduled during this important time of day.
Two-thirds (67%) of workers report they have meetings scheduled during the lunch hour at least once a week. While nearly half (49%) of workers are okay with scheduling meetings during the lunch hour if it’s an urgent matter, (33%) find it rude no matter what. Gen Z and Gen X (38% each) find it especially rude compared to Millennials (32%); women (36%) are also more likely than men (28%) to think that it is rude to book meetings during lunch.
If a meeting is booked during a lunch hour, nearly half (45%) of workers will multi-task and eat lunch at least half the time. For video-based meetings, only 7% of workers always keep cameras on while eating. The main reasons workers decide to turn cameras off are because they think it’s rude (58%) or because they don’t want people to see them chewing (49%).
Tips for Making the Most of Your Desk Salad
Little Leaf Farms teamed up with the queen of office etiquette, TikTok star Corporate Natalie, to help office workers set boundaries and ensure their desk lunches are truly “happy.” Whether you have a Happy Desk Salad Kit or not, everyone can enjoy their office lunch by remembering a few simple tips:
- Set boundaries that help you prioritize an actual lunch break. One easy way to do this is blocking off 30 minutes each day so that you can count on having a midday break where you can enjoy your lunch in peace. Even if you’re eating it at your desk, a meeting-free meal will give you a bit of a mental breather.
- Being in the corporate world usually means running from one thing to the next all day long, so choose a better-for-you lunch packed with veggies that keeps you going. Something convenient like Little Leaf Farms Salad Kits taste great, come with all the ingredients you need and stay fresh much longer than other salad kits. They’re also handy for when you can’t (or just don’t want to) meal prep.
- Most of us eat lunch at our desks – but desk lunch days don’t have to be sad. Throw on your headphones and jam to some good music, get yourself a fancy placemat to save your keyboard from crumbs, grab a linen napkin and a real fork and dig in!
