But what's the cost to the company when everyone disappears "at lunch" to eat their mid-day meal (whenver "lunchtime" is - Fred gets up early, so he eats at 11,

But what's the cost to the company when everyone disappears "at lunch" to eat their mid-day meal (whenver "lunchtime" is - Fred gets up early, so he eats at 11, Constance chows down at noon, and Paul, who arrives at work by 12:30pm every day, skitters out at 1350 every day to catch his favorite restaurant before it closes for the afternoon), and how much longer will people stay if you feed them dinner? (In a former life, the figure was at least an extra hour worth of productivity a day) Getting people's meals in sync is a productivity bonus, even if they don't socialize during those meals.