- Coffee break
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Coffee Break (book) "A coffee break is a daily social gathering for a
snack and short downtime practiced by employees in business and industry. The term was popularized in America and invented by the Pan American Coffee Bureau in 1952, but has become universal in the modern world and is employed whether or not participants are actually drinkingcoffee . It corresponds with the Commonwealth termselevenses , "morning tea", "tea break", or even just "tea". However the term "coffee break" is increasingly used even in those countries.Fact|date=May 2007 An afternoon coffee break, or "afternoon tea", is sometimes had as well.The coffee break is said to have originated in the late 1800s in
Stoughton, Wisconsin by the wives of Norwegian immigrants. The city celebrates this every year with the Stoughton Coffee Break Festival. [ [http://www.stoughtonwi.com/coffee.shtml stoughtonwi.com] ] However, the term was popularized by aPan-American Coffee Bureau ad campaign which urged consumers, "Give yourself a Coffee-Break — and Get What Coffee Gives to You." [ [http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/patc/coffeebreak/index.html NPR.org] – The Coffee Break]Coffee breaks usually last 10–20 minutes and frequently occur at the end of the first third of the work shift. In some companies and some
civil service , the coffee break may be observed formally at a set hour; in some places a "cart" with hot and cold beverages andcake s,bread s and pastries arrives at the same time morning and afternoon, or an employer may contract with an outsidecaterer for daily service.The break is often held away from the actual work area in a designated
cafeteria ,tea room or outdoor area. As well as a chance for sustenance, it is a time for gossip and small talk, or a time to smoke a cigarette (thus the alternate term "smoke break"). It is a chance to wind down slightly and "regroup" for the remaining day's work. In Australia and New Zealand this break from work, particularly manual work, is also calledsmoko .More generally, "coffee break" is used to denote any break from work in any arena; housewives are often portrayed in popular culture as taking a coffee break in their kitchens.
In some companies a mock
carpet rule Clarifyme|date=March 2008 is used in order to remindcolleague s not to discuss work in the tea room.References
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