The cost of lunch breaks is soaring — and more workers are skipping meals to manage

High prices are eating into workers' paychecks, as the average costs for lunches jump 23% in a year.Hendrik Schmidt/picture alliance via Getty ImagesHigh prices are eating into workers' paychecks as costs jump 23% year-over-year, a new report found.Between groceries and eating out, employees spend an average of $108.68 each week on work lunches.Nearly 1 in 5 workers intentionally skip meals to save money, the report by ezCater found.Inflation isn't just driving up the cost of rent and groceries — it's coming for your lunch break, too.New data from ezCater shows employees are spending more than $108 a week on work lunches, up sharply from $88 last year. And as costs climb, a growing number of workers say they're skipping meals entirely to save money.The report, based on the results of an online survey conducted in June 2025 among 1,000 full-time US employees in on-site or hybrid roles, found that, on average, employees buy lunch 2.6 times each week, spending around $34.82 a week buying lunch out — up 26% compared to last year.Those increasing costs are then driving more employees, mostly millennials and Gen Z, to skip lunch entirely, which reduces productivity and increases work stress.Business Insider previously reported that skipping lunch can harm a worker's mental, physical, and social health."Our data shows that hangry workers are bad for business: 43% take longer to complete tasks, 38% report being blunt with colleagues, and 25% avoid interacting with their peers," Robert Kaskel, VP of People at ezCater, said of the report's findings.The ezCater report found that not only are younger workers more inclined to skip lunch, they're also more likely to feel guilty about taking a lunch break at all. Gen Z employees in particular are 110% more likely than their older colleagues to believe their boss will frown on them taking a break, the report found.Business Insider has previously reported that Gen Z employees are more likely than their older colleagues to feel anxiety at work."When your youngest employees feel guilty about taking their lunch break, it's a big red flag," Kaskel said. "Pair this lunch guilt with employees' tendency to skip lunch for short-term productivity gains, and business leaders have a performance and burnout issue on their hands."A 2021 study published in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Research International found that a regular, one-hour lunch break plays a role in preventing absenteeism and improving employees' job satisfaction and attitudes toward work.In the "hardcore" work era, skipping lunch may seem like a win for efficiency, but a workforce running on empty can't stay productive for long.If lunch has become a luxury, it's one the modern workplace can't afford to lose.Read the original article on Business Insider

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