Going Home for Lunch: A Recipe for Stress?

Does anyone out there know what percent of office workers go home for lunch? It's something I always wanted in my work-life, and now that I have it, I'm not convinced it's all I thought it was cracked up to be.

It takes me between 12 and 22 minutes in each direction--short enough to be a viable option, but long enough to make it not worth my time.

We've talked about the downside of living too close to the office. But now let's see if there's a real benefit in heading home for lunch.

Read more of my blog post at US News and World Report.

Comments

[Duane]

Just recently I got into a new job where my commute back home is, at most, about 10-15 minutes. Now we're talking - I could get home, make a sandwich, hang out for half an hour, and still be back in time. But here's the thing, I'm basically in the way when I do that. I've got 3 kids at home and my wife's got stuff to do. Am I going to do the laundry while I'm home? Not really. Can I hang out and play games with the kids? Chances are they have playmates over.

So instead I've adopted a "get stuff done during lunch" routine that may or may not involve heading home if I need something. For instance, "Need to go to the hardware store, but need measurement from the basement". Go home, measure thing, go to hardware store, buy thing. Maybe I bring it home during lunch, maybe I just head to work and bring it home later. Or maybe my wife says "Hey can you swing by the store and pick up some Valentine's for the kids' party?" Sure, why not?