April President’s Message: Goodbye Sad Desk Lunch

Most weekdays at noon you can find me taking hurried bites of my lunch between emails. I’m not alone: 62 percent of American office workers usually eat their lunch in the same spot they work all day. The phenomenon has been dubbed the “Sad Desk Lunch.”

It turns out, my lunch with a side of a to-do list isn’t making me more productive.

I’m in the middle of reading Daniel Pink’s “When: The Scientific Secret of Perfect Timing,” which examines the science of good and bad timing. In the book, Pink references a 2016 study of 800 office workers across 11 organizations and found that people who ate lunch away from their desk could better manage workplace stress and experienced less exhaustion and more energy later in the day.

Count me in. Let’s all make an effort to take lunch breaks more often, so we can be more productive and happier PR professionals. Good news: Attending the April luncheon counts!

And, now for some PRSA Richmond updates:

• Lights, camera, #IAMPRSARVA: The incredibly talented Eric Futterman with EAF Custom Communication is donating his services to help PRSA Richmond produce some online videos featuring members. We’ll be recording short #IAMPRSARVA interviews before the Wednesday, April 25 program. We’d love for YOU to participate. Please email president-elect Judi Crenshaw, APR, to participate, jwcrenshaw@vcu.edu.
• Will you take our quick survey? We have a short survey we’d love your help with and it will take less than three minutes. Our amazing sponsorship team wants to get a better understanding of how members work with vendors, to help position the chapter to future sponsors. Two lucky people who take the survey will win $25 gift cards. You can access the survey here.
• It’s awards season: A big “thank you” to everyone who submitted entries for the Virginia Public Relations Awards. We had a record 240 submissions. Winners will receive notifications this week. We can’t wait to see you at the Thursday, May 24 ceremony at The Jefferson Hotel. Register today.

Finally, make sure to sign-up for all of PRSA Richmond’s April events. From our spring happy hour to a social media professional development session and a media relations-focused luncheon topic, there’s a lot going on!

Sincerely,

Cameron