This Season’s Hottest Workplace Accessory

Trendy men and women are rocking a classic look this season with a simple workplace accessory.  Move over Dooney & Bourke, Ralph Lauren and Louis Vuitton – health conscious employees in workplaces across the country have been spotted toting the Brown Paper Bag.

You’ve heard it before from a wide array of media sources; the brown bag lunch is one sizzling food trend.  What’s not to like?  Whether you pack your lunch in a paper bag, a sleek and stylish Laptop Bento box or an old school vintage lunch pail the benefits are more than Ho Ho Ho-Hum. You:

• Save money
• Eat healthier
• Save time on your lunch break

Here is what the fashionable employee knows about successful and festive brown bag accessorizing:

Motivation

Set a goal that engages and looks good to you. Want to save money for Christmas gifts, vacation, college or clearing debts? Take off weight or improve your health? Perhaps your greatest desire is spending time in stress-busting activities like walking, reading or visiting the gym during your lunch break.

Commitment

When you are devoted to succeeding, nothing stands in your way. Write your goal on several sticky notes. Post the reminders where you’ll see them daily – bathroom mirror, car dash and at work. Photoshop a picture of you at your favorite vacation spot or college and hang it on the refrigerator, in your car and at your workplace.

Planning is Essential

Check out websites like Rose Reisman’s The Art of Living Well and MSN’s Money Take the Brown Bag Challenge for tips on planning ahead to avoid same day workday lunch prep.

Become an Apple Connoisseur

Its pectin helps with cardiovascular and digestive health, may lower incidence of cancer, is high in potassium with no sodium and in its whole form is high in fiber slowing insulin response. There is a reason for the saying, “An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.” Purchase several varieties like Gala, Pink Lady, Granny Smith and my personal favorite Honeycrisp. Bring enough for coworkers and have an apple tasting.

Share

Remember when you were a kid and traded lunch items with classmates? Sharing makes packing lunch entertaining and interesting. It encourages coworkers to get on board and copy your trendsetting style.

By the way, I’d love to see Jim Annis, CEO of The Applied Companies, walk into the office sporting a Mighty Mouse vintage lunch box. How fun is that? More importantly . . . I hear Gini Annis is a fabulous cook.

Written by Susan Fix, The Applied Companies Community Liaison Partner. Fix has worked 15 years in staffing services performing outside sales, recruiting, permanent and temporary placement coordination, career counseling, customer service and social media/business.