The coffee break is a concept that every worker knows about and will use regardless of whether they use their work break to actually drink coffee or not. These breaks are important to workers because they reduce stress, allow the worker to recover from fatigue, and can give them something to look forward to.

Adding a cup of coffee to these breaks is just an added bonus that makes those breaks all that much better. That’s why someone had the foresight to create a holiday that celebrates these breaks. National Coffee Break Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on the 20th of January and commemorates those breaks that are so important to workers all over the world.

The History of National Coffee Break Day

We can all thank the concept of the coffee break to a 1952 court case called the U.S. v. Phil Greinetz of Los Wigwam Weavers. Greinetz owned Los Wigwam Weavers, a Denver tie factory, but had difficulty finding the staff he needed for the extremely hard job of making ties. To increase productivity, he introduced mandatory coffee breaks so that employees had the energy they needed to make it through their shifts and remain alert.

However, although he deemed the coffee breaks to be mandatory for the success of his business, he wasn’t willing to pay the workers to take these coffee breaks. Even though they had to take these breaks, they weren’t allowed to take them on the clock.

This brought the attention of the U.S. Department of Labor, which sued him in court. The result is that employers had to cover coffee breaks for their businesses because they are positively impacted by employees who are enjoying coffee. And that’s how it became commonplace for people to take coffee breaks.

While the history of the coffee break is pretty clear, we are unclear exactly when National Coffee Break Day began. We do know that it’s been around for quite a few years now, but we don’t know who started it. As usual, we’ll continue to research this holiday, and if we come up with any more answers, we’ll update this post with the new information.

Observing National Coffee Break Day

National Coffee Break Day can be observed simply by taking a few moments to enjoy some coffee. This coffee can be enjoyed at work while on break, or it can be enjoyed in the privacy of your own home. Coffee drinkers can also spread the news about this holiday using the hashtag #CoffeeBreakDay on social media.