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Dine or Desk: Today’s ‘power lunch’

Marketplace Contributor Jul 6, 2012

How you eat lunch at work can depend on your job, your boss, the office vending machine, local food spots – and it’s changing by the lunch hour. Decades after the term “Power Lunch” came to rise in the late 1970s the working lunch is not what it used to be.

Next week on Marketplace we’re taking a closer look at workplace eating habits, so send us yours. Find us on Facebook or on Twitter at @MarketplaceAPM and tell us what is your definition of a working lunch. And listen for your best responses next week on Marketplace.

Dine or Desk? Today’s version of the "power lunch"

How you eat lunch at work can depend on your job, your boss, the office vending machine, and possibly the decade. During the 1980’s midday outings or "power lunches" were all the rage. Marketplace listeners tell us how they take lunch today.

Storified by · Fri, Jul 06 2012 08:56:30

THE POLL:
PB&J at your desk or Cobb salad with colleagues? Where do you eat your working lunch? Send pics and responses at #dineordeskMarketplace
YOUR RESPONSES: 
RT @SamEB_NHPR: @MarketplaceAPM Dine out with colleagues? Are you kidding? Who has time? Desk or while running to and fro. http://pic.twitter.com/xk0K0xUJMarketplace
@MarketplaceAPM desk 98% of the time #dineordeskJohn Yocca
@marketplaceapm @kashi bars are my normal ‘power’ lunch http://pic.twitter.com/oAUD6MsiwGAgoodguy
@MarketplaceAPM #dineordesk desk…most of the time – one day i look forward to that changing just a littleCSA
@MarketplaceAPM I take the time to go for a run and then eat at my desk afterward.Pinedale Roundup
Usually at my desk; it’s cheaper to pack your own lunch. When I go out, it’s with the whole staff and we work the whole time. #dineordeskJonny Eberle
@MarketplaceAPM My standard lunch 3 – 4 days/week. 5th day I eat w/ colleagues, clients or friends. #DineOrDesk http://pic.twitter.com/75CnAoWrSean C. Amore
@MarketplaceAPM In my comfy chair in my office. #dineordesk http://pic.twitter.com/SzL4y10Rdavid smith 10E6
I’m lucky to go home for lunch – sandwich & apple with my toddler. RT @MarketplaceAPM: Where do you eat your working lunch? #dineordeskLorena Nava Ruggero
@MarketplaceAPM Always at my desk, unless out at a client lunch. That way I can listen the the Marketplace Tech Report in peace. #dineordeskJustin LaBerge
@MarketplaceAPM Depends on the day but usually desk. Lunch can’t be billed if I’m not working. #dineordesk http://pic.twitter.com/BLxC8tvkMike Dvorak
Takeout cabbage soup at my desk today, @MarketplaceAPM. Forgot to bring the the grilled leftovers from the 4th. #dineordeskJon S.
@MarketplaceAPM yes, ate lunch, with co-workers one of whom picked up our lunch. Eating together is encouraged @chnm. #dineordeskSheila Brennan
@MarketplaceAPM Lunch? What lunch?Julie Scott
@MarketplaceAPM We have a company provided lunch & most of the company usually eats together. It’s a good way to promote interaction, etc…Chris Johnson
@MarketplaceAPM we have a price-subsidized cafe and communal lunch areas, but many people (though decreasing in numbers) still eat at desksKevin R. Knight
@marketplaceapm Sadly, these days it’s desk. #dineordeskLeslie Clavin
@MarketplaceAPM Vegan (mock) tuna salad sandwich while finishing up my graduate research project. #dineordesk http://pic.twitter.com/6RB7oRlxPolly Atomic
@MarketplaceAPM My workplace has a kitchenette on each floor and a bigger lunchroom… However I eat at my desk 90% of the time.Rosalind Corey Clark
@MarketplaceAPM part desk and part out; I am not a drinker, so it is a good opportunity to get to know those at my new job #dineordeskAlex Jokela
@MarketplaceAPM Arby’s either chicken pecan salad wrap or regular roast beef. Boring and bad for me. http://pic.twitter.com/8PAKK3QIsuerichy
@MarketplaceAPM lunch truck came to the office http://twitpic.com/a4bmbsJoe Poutous
@marketplaceapm I still pack my own lunch- tuna salad, crackers, cheese and an apple…unless it’s Taco Salad day in the employee cafeteriaJennifer MacNaughton
@MarketplaceAPM #dineordesk I go to the break room, where we all eat in silence… Not a very chatty environmentGloria M-M
@MarketplaceAPM I eat at my desk everyday, but so do most of my coworkers. Plus, gives me a chance to catch up with e-mail, etc. #dineordeskDaniel Noto
@MarketplaceAPM As usual, dined out with colleaguesTadizi Mootwall
@MarketplaceAPM Almost all of my coworkers have regular lunch partners or groups. Very few eat alone either in or out of the office. :)Mary Trujillo
@MarketplaceAPM at desk, mostly.Alvaro Miranda
@MarketplaceAPM I usually eat in the cafeteria, with my high school students. #dineordesktoday I had this: http://pic.twitter.com/1BTxC5WzSR
My cooking memoir will be called "Eating Furtively in a Corner: The Best Meals of my Life" #dineordeskCat

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