A lunch break can tell you quite a lot about a country’s work culture; ranging from two-hour, luxuriant pauses in some parts of the world, to a couple of minutes, snack-in-hand at a desk, in others.

For decades, people have built up camaraderie by meeting informally and in person, but technology and the pandemic have changed that.

In this programme, Ruth Alexander goes in search of the meaning and purpose of the lunch break; from power lunches in the heady world of international finance, to a simple snack and a chat with a colleague, and asks, what do we stand to lose if we don’t take a proper break?

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(Picture: Two female colleagues, laughing over a meal. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)

Producer: Elisabeth Mahy