Is it gone forever?
Would a millennial even know what a coffee break is? “Whaat? You mean go to Starbucks?”
N-O, Nooo!
The coffee break was once a near sacred part of the American workday. I wanted to know if the term was still part of our vernacular. So, I paid a visit to UrbanDictionary.com. I normally would share the link, but their definition of a coffee break is not what We’re talking about here.
It turns out the term is all but lost in America, but Europeans still know what they are. Again, my faithful source UrbanDictionary.com, defines the “European Coffee Break” as –
A long, elegant pause in a European worker’s day in which he consumes coffee or tea, depending on the time of day.”
UrbanDictionary.com
Here’s the usage in American terms… “She had a European Coffee Break… long, enjoyable… She must have thought she was in Europe.”
But of course, we accept that Europeans know how to live better than Americans. That’s a given.
Some European countries even have their own terminology (of course they would). That’s understandable after all. We borrow words from Europe, but they never borrow from us. (Okay, well there are words like iPhone, and Android… just to be clear)
Back to the coffee thing… there’s a lesson or two here.
The Swedish have the term “Fika,” pronounced [fee-ka]. The basic meaning is “to have coffee” often accompanied with pastries, cookies, or pie. See… Europeans just know how to do things better. I became wise to the concept of fika reading The Journal on Huckberry.com. Be careful though, if you visit. They sell really cool stuff on that site (no affiliate relationship, but maybe someday).
So, what’s required? Coffee—of course. A snack. And at least one other person.
“You can have a fika with your friends, your coworkers (a-ha!), or your grandma.”
The point is all about quality time and connection… no, not connection using electronic devices. You-are-taking-a break-from-those-things. Oh yes, and NO WORKING!
You see, this leads me back to my question about the lost art of the coffee break in America. When I joined the workforce, we still had them. But, along around the time that layoffs transformed from a taboo to the norm is when coffee breaks started becoming scarce on the corporate landscape.
Check out this fika thing here.
It’s something we need to borrow from the Swedes.
Just like the coffee break, fika is about spending some quality time with other people. You spend a little time taking a break and getting to know your coworkers, or friends, or both.
Forget about “grabbing” coffee. That sounds too much like you’re in a rush. This is America! Anything worth doing is worth doing in a hurry, right?
Yes, it’s a hyperconnected world. That’s not changing any time soon. We’ve allowed ourselves to skip the pause to our own detriment.
Let’s work on that. Let’s fix it.
And you know what? You’ll actually be more productive, and you’ll feel better. How can that be a bad thing?
Do fika. Be untucked.
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I’ve never worked in an office. I once worked in a Union plant, you better believe there was 2 break times a day. I worked in shipping, and was able to walk and work around the shop, so taking a break was no big deal. But the machinists guarded their breaks religiously. There was a buzzer, two minutes before the break was over, so we would be back at our workplace, when break was over. So of course the Union Rep argued there should be a buzzer, so they could get ready for break.
I’ve been self employed since I was 24. While my employees and I were working, if we were going to be working all morning, we’d stop when we wanted. If we would be done shortly, we worked until we were done and take a break. And if someone wanted a cigarette, they took a smoke break whenever they wanted. So I’ve never really lost anything.
But if anyone tried to work Sandy thru her break time, I’d get very protective of her breaks, haha.
John, I’m glad to hear your experience was different. It sounds like you treated your employees well… kudos to you for that.