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AL
DESKO DINING
MILLIONS forgo
their lunch hour in a bid to appease employers. With a large
portion of guilt, UK bosses are taking a serious bite out of their
staff's lunch hours. On the eve of British Sandwich Week 2006,
leading sandwich brand, Ginsters, reveals that the average employee
works through almost 2 lunch hours a week, while 11% never take any
time for lunch at all.
According to the findings, 35% of employers would prefer for staff
to eat lunch at their desks to save time. 24% meanwhile make their
employees feel guilty for taking a lengthy lunch hour. However,
it is an obligation to their colleagues that keep 38% of UK workers
chained to their desks.
Psychologist, David Moxon said:- "If eating lunch at their
desks helps employees to keep on top of their work and reduce their
stress levels, this can only be a good thing. I would however
suggest allocating one lunch time a week out of the office"
Ideal for Al Desko Dining (77%), sandwiches easily top the list of
lunchtime favourites, followed by gut-busting salads (13%).
Meanwhile, such British staples as the pie and pasty beat off
competition
from trendy rookie, the wrap.
Moxon added:- "Snacking on sandwiches at lunchtime means that
you can enjoy a cooked meal in the evening, and use it as a reason
to spend some quality time with family and friends"
Despite this pressure to eat in the office, only 36% of workplaces
provide cafeterias, 45% microwaves and 37% cutlery. A measly 34%
supply crockery.
Larry File, spokesperson for Ginsters, said:- "We really are
becoming a nation of workaholics if we can't even take time to have
lunch. It's just
fortunate that the sarnie is there to hold the British workforce
together."
Who give up the most lunch hours in the UK?
1. West Midlands
2. South East
3. East Midlands
4. East Anglia
5. North West
6= North East
6= Wales
8. Yorkshire & Humber
9. South West
10. Scotland
11. London
12. Northern Ireland
10 tasty sandwich facts
· John Mantagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich, invented the sandwich in
1762. It was a convenient snack that could be eaten without
disruption to his gambling activities. The original 'sandwich'
was made of salt beef placed between slices of toasted bread.
· The British Sandwich Association, founded in 1990, aims to
safeguard the integrity of the sandwich industry, promote excellence
and innovation in sandwich making, provide a source of knowledge for
the industry and act as a collective voice for the industry.
· Hawaii was once known as the Sandwich Islands.
· A decade-old toasted cheese sandwich said to bear an image of the
Virgin Mary was sold on the eBay auction website for $28,000.
· The record for eating sandwiches is held by Peter Dowdeswell. He
ate 40 jam and butter sandwiches (each 6 inches x 3 inches) in 17
minutes, 53.9
seconds on October 17, 1977.
· In May, a British department store made a £85 sandwich, making it
the world's most expensive sandwich.
· Chicken is the most popular sandwich filling, preferred by 21% of
people, followed by cheese and ham.
· Men account for 57% of the sandwich buying market, and people
below 35 years of age are responsible for half of all sandwich
purchases. · If all the sandwiches consumed in the UK annually were piled end
to end, they would stretch to the moon and back twice.
· Ginsters is the leading brand in the sandwich market - selling
over 15 million sandwiches a year through over 10,000 different
outlets. |
HOME WORKING GROWS BY A THIRD IN NORTH WEST
TUC research
of regional trends of home working using previously unpublished data
from the Labour Force Survey. The North West has seen the
number of people working from home grow by 30% since 1999. More than
129,000 workers, approaching five per cent of the working
population, are now based at or usually work from home. The region
has seen some 30,000 new home workers since 1999.
The lowest proportion of workers in the UK working at home is in
Northern Ireland with just 15,000 or 2.6% of the working population,
with the highest in the South East (excluding London), with 6.9%.
The UK average for home working is 5.1% of the working population,
with 59.9% of self-employed people working from home. The average
split between the sexes is 69% male to 31% female.
The 3-year Work Wise UK campaign, which promotes the widespread
adoption of smarter working practices, such as home working but also
including flexible working, mobile working and remote working, was
launched at a special summit in London earlier this month. CBI
Director-General Sir Digby Jones, Brendan Barber, secretary-general
of the TUC, Sir Christopher Bland, chairman of BT, and Meg Munn MP,
then Minister for Women and Equality, all made keynote speeches to
300 influential delegates from government, the unions and business
about how to deliver a smarter working Britain.
Phil Flaxton, chief executive of the IT Forum Foundation, the
not-for-profit organisation behind the campaign, said:- “Work
Wise UK has got off to an excellent start with extensive media
coverage during Work Wise Week, which finished last Tuesday.
National Work from Home Day and Work Wise Week, will become annual
fixtures, highlighting the advantages of smarter working, and to
report progress on raising the proportion of the working population
able to benefit from such progressive working practices.”
Further information about Work Wise UK can be found on the website (www.workwiseuk.org).
Letters to Editor:- "Adopted Brother Found!"
"I placed and
advert in your online newspaper on the
24 October 2005
asking anyone did they know of anyone named Philip Duffy who is my
brother but was adopted at 5 weeks old. He was born at Ormskirk
Hospital in 1959. Since you placed the details in an article, my
brother has made contact with me and my other brother. We have
exchanged photos, emailed each other and my other brother has met
him in London as they both live there.
How it came
about was my adopted brother typed his name and Southport into the
computer as a chance and my letter came up. I want to thank you so
much for putting my details into the website. We have been looking
for him for the past 15 years. Thanks once again..." Julie
Flindersd
Editors note:-
"We are so glad we could help. Thank you for letting us
know your good news. I hope you all stay in contact and
it all works out well for you all. Good luck for the
future!"
Tasmanian Band, The Innocents to visit Liverpool
THE Tasmanian
band, The Innocents are coming to Liverpool this month to perform at
The Cavern as part of the International Pop Overthrow, 26 May to 28
May 2006. The Innocents regularly raise funds for Save the Children
in Australia and have dedicated the single Nothing Stays the Same to
Save the Children. It is out on their new CD - Pop Factory. Save the
Children fights for children in the UK and around the world who
suffer from poverty, disease, injustice and violence, working with
them to find lifelong answers to the problems they face.
Liverpool 48... The latest news! "Movies on the big screen"
THE big news
is that Liverpool48 are delighted to announce that throughout the
public voting period, entries to the film challenge will be screened
daily on the BBC's massive screen in Liverpool city centre.
This will provide a fantastic opportunity for film makers to have
their work seen by a massive and diverse audience and is a great
reflection of the level of enthusiasm that the film challenge has
been greeted with by the media.
The group hope to be able to confirm another strategic alliance that
will offer an additional superb platform for entrant's completed
films to be seen by an even wider public audience. More
info. see:-
liverpool48.com. |
