Rule #1 of staying sane during the corporate grind: breaktime is sacred.

Although it may have become increasingly acceptable to answer emails or take calls while chowing down on a chain restaurant slop bowl and call it ‘lunch’, it remains a fact that actually making time to have a decent break during the work day is one of the simplest ways to keep professional stress to a minimum. The act of making time for ourselves is not necessarily a grand gesture, but it can have a more positive impact on how we experience working life than we think.

As always, the main barrier to experiencing a thing like this is the very managers and companies that may benefit from our increased focus and productivity if we are allowed to have a proper break. Eager to hit all those goals that mean so much to corporate, the appearance of constantly on-task (and let’s face it, overworked) employees is more important than the well-being of said employees. While it may be true that there are workers who will misuse the right to have a break during the day, it isn’t fair to clamp down harder on those who don’t in retaliation for this.