The Golden Hour

February 18, 2023

Two weeks back a colleague of mine joined me for lunch at our cafeteria. I got to catch up on what was happening in his life and then we discussed about his project which then led me to an idea that I was able to implement on my project. This got me thinking as to why we don't treat these lunch hours as golden hours for reflection, building connections and exchanging ideas. Here I would like to build a case for the importance of the lunch hour.

Lunches for me are special. That is my special meal of the day and I love to eat away from my desk at the cafeteria. There is no bigger pleasure than opening a lunchbox after a hard morning of focussed work and having a satisfying sumptuous meal. I think better with a happy stomach and besides I have the rest of the day to burn it out. On the odd day that I don't bring lunch from home, I love to try out a local restaurant that serves healthy meals usually with my team-mates or with local connections. Pre-covid times I used to have lunch together with a very small handful of regulars at the cafeteria. There was a special bond. We chatted about everything under the sun. We came up with new ideas and dreamed of solving world hunger! Once a month, I would go out for lunch with team members to a local restaurant around town. It was a special meal as I got to know each team member more at a personal level. Post-Covid I am mostly by myself in the cafeteria savoring my lunch in solitude which has its own set of benefits. It gives me time to reflect on the events of the day and decompress from a hectic morning schedule as well as enjoy my lunch in peace. Now as colleagues slowly come back to work, I am looking forward to those enriching lunch experiences again.

The lunch hour is sacrosanct in many cultures across the world. In Paris a 90 minute lunch break outside is pretty common and in fact is mandated by law. At the turn of the 20th century, the law started out as a way of giving factory workers to take a break from the polluted air and take in fresh air by eating outside. In fact it was the women workers in France who demanded it to escape from unsafe working conditions. Restaurants are full at lunch hour. People get to socialize with their team members besides talking shop. Over time this builds a much better working relationship and reduces misunderstandings between coworkers a they know more about the person they are working with.

At many firms in Tokyo, it is expected for teammates to go out for lunch or eat together not only during lunch hour but also for dinner. There is camaraderie amongst the team members and a "we are in it together" attitude. In fact sometimes even the boss ends up paying for some of the meals as a way of showing gratitude to the employees. They get to know their team members very well and they become like family. There is more connection built with the company over the long term and hence there is higher retention of employees.

In Mumbai, it is customary for many office workers to bring in a tiffin box (or get it shipped using the Dabbawala), home cooked food in a stack full of containers. The employees sit together in the cafeteria to eat and it is common for them to share the food that they bring. They build a sense of community and friendship. As a result, they are even known to invite coworkers to celebrate major events in their family.

Stateside, there was a time when the entire department of some large companies used to go out for lunch together. I remember a time when the employees of Lucent Bell labs used to dine together at lunch. It was a time when people used to exchange ideas about their work. We used to know what other organizations were up to. We came up with new ideas, we came to know of other similar work being done which resulted in less duplication of effort. We got easy access to upper management as they sat on the same table for lunch. Upper management had a better pulse of the company. Later, when we moved to a $100+ million dollar swanky new glass building, the architects had a brilliant idea of not designing a central space for a cafeteria. Any collaboration and exchange of ideas between departments pretty much ended with the move. Each one was left in their own wing to themselves. Brown Bag working seminar lunches became the new thing. The temptation of catching up with email, social media, news or doing a workout over lunch hour crept in. There was no common culture left to bind the company. However the connections I built from the initial years still last till this day.

We spend a lifetime working hard and often forget to enjoy the fruits of our labor. It is also an undeniable fact that when humans get face to face there is an increase in collaboration. They have an opportunity to build lifelong connections. If it is over lunch then they can build better relationships, exchange ideas and help out each other when in need. It is by far the golden hour for collaboration, networking, team building and reflection.

Here are some interesting resources for further reading.