Confessions of a researchaholic

Today he participated in a company volunteer activity to help fight hunger by packing dried food.

Within a large conference room were multiple stations of two types, one for mixing powdered vitamins, dried and chopped vegetables, powdered soy, and rice grains into bags, and another for weighing and sealing the bags.
Multiple volunteers were assigned to each station, and the process was repeated ad infinitum with pop music blasting in the background.

It was kind of fun to work and chat with other volunteers, but he started to wonder the value and goal of this activity.
All the equipments and materials had to be brought to and from the event venue, and the repetitive tasks seemed more suitable for robots than humans, not to mention employees who are paid (potentially high) hourly wages to do this.
So this volunteer activity looks like a form of employee benefits but with a more positive spin than the usual corporate parties.

If you worry about coming back to work after a break, just remember that you are not alone, and I often find my colleagues to be still away or no more prepared.

I also no longer have to think about what to do with my time during the break.

Just walked up to the 15th floor and found my PhD adviser sitting in a cubicle before returning to my office on the 8th floor.