SKIPPING lunch breaks costs the average South West worker £31,416 in lost earnings over their lifetime.

Research found that staff in the South West are only taking 23 minute breaks a day, often in an attempt to keep on top of busy work schedules.

Totaljobs, the leading jobs board, surveyed over 7,000 workers across the UK on the subject of lunch breaks and found that over half don’t take a full lunch break and a quarter of workers believe that skipping lunch is part of their company’s culture.

Nearly half admitted to munching on their lunch at their desks, while continuing to work.

David Clift, HR director at totaljobs said: “We understand workers feel under pressure and are competitive with the colleagues, but it is alarming to see how everyday the culture of working through lunch has become in this country. Taking time to move away from your workstation has many proven benefits and can allow workers to return back to work refreshed and reinvigorated for the second half of the day.”

Nearly 70 per cent of workers also added that they never met friends or family during their lunch breaks.

Over 7,000 people took part in the research carried out by totaljobs: https://www.totaljobs.com/insidejob/price-lunch-breaks-research/