The pandemic has resulted in a yearning for social lunches among office colleagues in Singapore, according to a survey from Deliveroo for Business,  the corporate arm of Deliveroo, and Censuswide.

The survey, which polled 1,004 office workers in Q1 2020, found that over 80% of respondents expressed they would like to eat together more with their colleagues, with 76% stating they would like to do so to bond and get to know each other better.

The desire to form a social connection with colleagues beyond work amidst Covid-19 has hence resulted in an increase of individuals and team leads organising virtual team lunches over video or Zoom, Deliveroo added.

The survey suggested a positive correlation between eating together, higher team performance and engaged and satisfied employees. Seven in 10 (73%) office workers agreed that teams are happier and more productive after eating lunch together and slightly over a third (37%) of respondents admitted they worked harder after eating with their colleagues.

Meanwhile, almost half, 49%, of respondents eat alone at work and are never fully switched off as they perform work tasks during their lunchtime. Employees are not maximising their lunch breaks, with 17% of employees taking their full allotted break time, according to the study.