Young Australians don’t always get top marks when it comes to their work ethic, but there is a cohort of Generation Z and millennial workers who are burning out at work thanks to a myth perpetuated by their older bosses.

“I had to lie on the floor for 20 minutes this morning and remind myself to breathe deeply, just to get up and take the train to work,” explains Mia*, a 35-year-old government executive from Melbourne.

“I started almost a year ago and in the last six months things have gotten really bad. It’s a very “bums in the seats” workplace. My boss works during lunchtime and the unspoken agreement is that we’re all supposed to, too.

“As a result, we have slowly been reducing our ability to work from home and scheduling meetings at the beginning and end of most workdays to make sure people are there throughout the day as well.”

New research from Subway has found that four in five Australians skip their lunch break entirely or don’t take as much time as they are allowed.

Worryingly, it’s bosses who encourage this habit, with younger Australians feeling the most pressure to work during breaks, leaving them at risk of anxiety and burnout.

Research showed that Generation Z and Millennials They are more likely than Generation X and Baby Boomers to believe that their bosses will think they are more dedicated to their jobs. work if they skip lunch time – with 10 per cent of the younger cohort believing this problematic myth, compared to 4 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.

Younger Australians were also more likely to say that condensing, skipping or working during lunchtime has negative impacts on them overall.

Sixty-seven percent of Generation Z respondents said the practice had overall negative effects, compared to 53 percent of millennials, 48 ​​percent of Generation 28 percent of baby boomers.

The new research aligns with data released earlier this year by TELUS, a global leader in workplace wellness.

Its Mental Health Index found that a worrying 47 per cent of Australian workers feel mentally or physically exhausted at the end of the workday.

This was particularly true for younger generations, a finding that TELUS Health Senior Vice President and APAC CEO Jamie MacLennan called “concerning.”

“Many employees, especially younger ones, are struggling with overwhelming workloads that leave them mentally and physically exhausted,” MacLennan said in a statement at the time.

“This unrelenting stress not only affects your mental health but also significantly reduces productivity.”

Bosses must do more to dispel the “lazy in seats” mentality

Sinead Connolly, founder of award-winning recruitment agency Lotus People, says bosses must do more to lead by example when it comes to encouraging staff to Take regular breaks and avoid burnout.

“From my perspective, over the years, I’ve seen that it’s very rare for people to take a full hour for lunch,” Connolly says. “While in some industries it is even frowned upon, particularly in places where there may be a hustle culture, or a culture where time spent at the desk is perceived as hard work, or is considered the action of someone who “has a better attitude than someone going to a longer lunch.”

She says the whole topic ties into the broader conversation about well-being, which can affect an organization’s bottom line in more ways than one.

“It’s actually up to employers to lead from the top, and most of the time that doesn’t happen at the executive level, and it doesn’t happen at the management level either,” he says.

“Everyone is busy, we are trying to do more with less capacity and everyone is running smoothly. Companies run smoothly.

“I’m not surprised and I don’t think it’s right. “I think it will take a lot of work to change it and it will have to be a conscious approach which, unfortunately, I don’t see in companies at the moment.”

Subway Australia and New Zealand marketing director Rodica Titeica called the data alarming and expected, and said changes within the organization are aimed at combating this worrying trend.

“As part of Subway’s mission to help Australians get lunch back, it was important for our corporate business to lead by example and that’s why, for several months now, we’ve made 12pm-1pm a hour without meetings to ensure that our staff have an uninterrupted hour to eat, rest and for themselves,” Titeica said.

“Of course, staff can still have lunch when it suits them, it doesn’t have to be between these times, but across the company we respect this sacred meeting-free hour that we have created daily.

“We encourage other employers and companies to find ways to foster a supportive environment that encourages lunch breaks. “It starts from the top.”

Mia, who is dismayed by the way a post-pandemic approach appears to have fueled toxic work cultures, agrees.

“I am actively looking for a new position, but if I don’t find one soon, I will resign anyway,” he says. “It’s not worth damaging your health this way.”

*Name has been changed to protect the employee’s anonymity.