Half of UK Workers Have Gained Weight in Their Current Jobs

Your job may be weighing heavily not only on your mind but also on your body. According to a new study from CareerBuilder.co.uk, 50 per cent of UK workers say they have gained weight in their current jobs. In terms of gender, more females (53 per cent) say they have gained weight in their present job than males (47 per cent).

ìMore than one-in-ten UK workers say they have gained over one and half stone in their current jobs,î said Michael Farry, director of Human Resources for CareerBuilder in Europe. ìBetween hectic schedules and the temptations of office treats, itís often difficult to make good decisions about food when youíre at work. However, taking the time in the evenings or mornings before work to pack your own lunch and snacks can help keep you on a healthy track and control what youíre eating and how much of it.î

According to the survey, many UK workers are not taking food matters into their own hands. Thirty-eight per cent of those surveyed say that they eat out for lunch at least once a week, with one-in-ten (10 per cent) eating out five times a week for lunch.

Some workers donít even make their way out of the building and opt for the vending machine as their source for lunch. One-in-ten (10 per cent) UK workers say they eat lunch from a vending machine at work at least once a week.

When asked about eating snacks at work, 43 per cent of workers say they eat more unhealthy snacks at the office than home. Fifteen per cent say they do not usually eat fruit or vegetables during the working week.

In terms of how often UK workers eat snacks at work each day, 65 per cent say they snack at least once a day. Thirty-eight per cent say they snack at least twice a day and 14 per cent say at least three times a day.

According to the survey, one of those snack breaks is probably for an energy boost. Fifty-nine per cent of UK workers say they take a coffee break at least once a day with 48 per cent saying they take a coffee break twice a day.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 217 UK employers (employed full-time; not self employed; with at least some involvement in hiring decisions), and 508 UK employees (employed full-time; not self employed; with no involvement in hiring decisions) ages 18 and over within UK between June 1 and June 13, 2007. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondentsí propensity to be online.