No more lunch at lunch hour.

• Position: Workplace - Brief Article

Will the lunch hour soon go the way of outmoded carbon paper and the obsolete typewriter? It is possible, suggests a survey of executives with the nation's 1 ,000 largest companies. The poll, developed by OfficeTeam, a Menlo Park, Calif., staffing service specializing in highly skilled administrative professionals, shows the average time spent on lunch is 42 minutes, well under the traditional hour. Close to one-third of respondents maintain it was shorter compared to the length of their breaks three years ago.

"Time is at a premium at work," observes Liz Hughes, vice president of OfficeTeam. "People must meet more deadlines and greater expectations within the same number of hours and days. Furthermore, with business being conducted in multiple time zones, there is no noon slowdown, which makes it difficult for some workers to [get] away."

Hughes warns against skipping lunch on a regular basis, as it quickly can lead to burnout. She offers the following tips on...