Every year it happens.
The temperature creeps above 25 degrees, everyone’s suddenly talking about beer gardens, picnics and “making the most of the weather”, and social media fills up with photos of people apparently living their best lives outdoors.
Then lunchtime arrives and half of us are sitting at our desks eating a sad sandwich while replying to emails.
According to new research from Wasabi, 46% of UK workers usually eat lunch at their desk or place of work instead of taking a proper break outside.
Honestly, that feels about right.
The Great British Lunch Break
The sushi chain reckons we’re wasting some of the best hours of the day, especially during the summer when the weather is actually behaving itself for once.
To encourage people to get away from their screens, it’s launched something called British Sushi Time – or BST.
Thankfully this has nothing to do with changing the clocks and everything to do with eating lunch outdoors.
As part of the campaign, Wasabi has introduced a new Sushi Alfresco Meal Deal for Two, which is basically designed for anyone looking to swap fluorescent office lighting for actual sunshine.
A Better Option Than Eating Over Your Keyboard
Available until 4th August, the deal includes two large sushi sets, two onigiris and two bottles of water for £22.
That’s £11 each, which isn’t bad considering what some meal deals seem to cost these days.
The idea is simple enough. Grab a colleague, friend or whoever happens to be nearby, find a bench, a park or even a patch of grass, and spend half an hour pretending you’re not surrounded by deadlines and notifications.
It’s hardly revolutionary, but sometimes the obvious ideas are the best ones.
Making The Most of Summer
What I quite like about this campaign is that it highlights something we all do.
We spend most of the year complaining about the weather, then when the sun finally appears, we somehow manage to spend the best part of the day indoors.
You don’t need to book a holiday to enjoy summer. Sometimes you just need to stop staring at a screen for 30 minutes and go outside.
Radical, I know.
Whether Wasabi’s British Sushi Time catches on remains to be seen, but if it encourages a few more people to leave their desks behind and actually enjoy their lunch break, that’s got to be a good thing.
The Sushi Alfresco Meal Deal for Two is available at participating Wasabi stores until 4th August.
More information can be found at https://www.wasabi.uk.com