From Where I Stand —
Let’s talk turkey.
More accurately, let’s talk turkey sandwiches. One of the subtle finds of ILCA’s Latinos and Americanos task force was the difference in how each culture approaches lunch. Any landscape manager or supervisor can attest that a lunch break on a job site among a crew of Latinos is a lot different than what you’d find among domestic workers. Latino lunch breaks are communal and social. Food is prepared and shared among all. The workers find a shady spot where they can sit and enjoy their meals out of the sun. The lunch break is stretched for the complete time. No one rushes back to work. Most importantly, work is rarely discussed. Sounds like a little slice of heaven, doesn’t it? The American lunch hour is close to being put on the endangered species list. In fact, even calling it a “lunch hour” is a misnomer. There is no federal law that stipulates lunch breaks, states regulate them. In Illinois, the only stipulation is that a 30-minute break is reserved for employees who work more than 7.5 hours and that break cannot occur more than five hours after the employee’s start time. Oh, and fresh water has to be provided. Those sound more like the conditions of a Dickensian workhouse than an office full of professionals. Everyone complains about young people being buried in their computers and phones, but that is exactly what many American do on their meal breaks. This stems from the individualistic vs. communal cultural differences between Americans and Latinos. Americans enjoy the short break to focus on themselves. Latinos enjoy the longer break to recharge and deepen the relationships so vital to crew dynamics. In fact, many Americans, if they even take a lunch break, use that time to run personal errands rather than stop and enjoy a decent meal. I used to work in Park Ridge. Just up the street from Lurvey’s in Des Plaines was a restaurant called Anderson’s Charhouse. It was in a strip mall across from Maine East High School. Sadly, I think it is long closed down. When I was working, they had a $3.99 lunch special that came with two pork chops, rice, vegetables, soup, and fresh baked bread. I was usually the youngest person in the restaurant by 30 years. I used to take my full lunch hour. I would sit at the bar, eat my two pork chops with a black coffee, and watch the Jerry Springer Show or whatever else the TV was tuned to. I spoke to no one. I had no phone to occupy my attention or pull me back to work. I just sat and enjoyed a meal in silence. My only conversational partner was the bartender who knew my order the second I walked in the door. I was happy. Over time, my lunch habits began to change. I became like every other American worker. If I could find the time, I sat at my desk and threw food down my throat as quick as I could. Famously, I had a bowl of soup every single day for lunch. I started with 20 cent bags of Ramen noodles to which I would add Jamaican hot sauce. Over time, as my economic conditions improved, I was able to buy Campbell’s Soup. Finally, when
I got the job at ILCA, I was eating so high on the hog, I could afford Progresso Soup. Over time, I just stopped eating lunch altogether. I’d be lucky to wolf down a bag of pretzels or peanuts in between meetings or obligations. I’d drink coffee and smack gum to satiate the hunger. I’m not sure any of this made me happy. It made me feel productive and hardworking, but I can’t say it has improved my work day. I have become like millions of other Americans who work right through our lunch breaks in the name of productivity and efficiency. We are probably a few years away from nibbling seed bells dangling over our heads. Often times, we decry change and romanticize the past. We will shake our fist and blame our employers or culture for robbing us of extended lunch breaks. However, is it actually our fault? Do we not take lunch because we feel the pressure of the American workday or do we not take lunch because we simply enjoy mindlessly scrolling the internet or flipping through our phones for 15 minutes? Americans do most everything quickly and efficiently, why should our lunch breaks be any different? Instead of trying to determine how we got here, maybe it’s better to determine if we want to stay here. I can bore you with history lessons about how the “quick lunch” started in major metropolitan areas as a way to stay fueled for arduous days. Prior to the 1900s, lunch breaks weren’t really a thing. In fact, lunch itself was not a central meal. Most Americans, especially farmers and homesteaders, subsided on breakfast with a large supper. Lunch was defined as all the food you could fit in one hand. That changed as more professionals commuted to big cities. Work days grew longer and more regimented. Time was money. Sixty percent of professionals eat lunch at their desks. 88% of bosses think their employees would say they are encouraged to take a lunch when only 62% of employees feel this way. 63% said they are more productive if they take a lunch break. Sadly, 22% of bosses look down on employees who pause for lunch. These numbers help explain how we wound up here. There is a blog called saddesklunch.com. It allows working professionals to snap photos of their pathetic desk lunches and post them to a blog. I am not sure if this is meant to be ironic, a badge of honor, or a case of misery loving company. The photos range from sad sandwiches to cat food-looking Lean Cuisines to ramen noodles made in a coffee pot. The photos could be from any office in America, cluttered desks, spreadsheets on the screen, and bacteria-covered keyboards sprinkled with crumbs. These are hardly the enchiladas and Mexican rice being enjoyed among coworkers under the dappled canopy of a honey locust. One of the takeaways of our Latinos and Americanos training is that employers should not mess with the lunch breaks of their Latino field workers. Instead, these gatherings should be supported and encouraged. We even recommend educating clients about the importance of lunch breaks for workers on the client’s property. These breaks are about camaraderie and
Let’s Do Lunch
The Landscape Contractor May 2022
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