Eating breakfast or lunch in a cafeteria or restaurant with friends or office colleagues reduces cognitive control and induces more mistakes than eating at the work table, according to German research published this week in the journal PLOS ONE .
According to Werner Sommer, a researcher at the Humboldt University of Berlin and lead author of the article, one of the conclusions of the study is that eating outside the workplace in the company of friends "is more relaxing than eating at the table. the office". But eating out and in company has also been shown to decrease cognitive control in situations that require attention . "Likewise, awareness of one's own mistakes, precision and accuracy in work performance are reduced," Sommer clarifies in statements to the SINC agency. This can be positive for creativity , among other things because excess cognitive control slows down the production of new ideas.
In Werner Sommer's opinion, from the study it can be deduced that eating with people outside the office could be useful to find new solutions to problems or resolve conflicts . However, when precision or accuracy is sought in the workplace, prolonged meals outside of work are not highly recommended.
