On most afternoons at 3:45pm, staff in Cambridge architects RMJM down tools for a cuppa. “We stop and come together and someone makes tea,” says director Peter Williams. “It usually lasts 15-20 minutes.”

Although the tea break has been taking place informally for some time, it was formalised three months ago, partly as a response to an increase in staff. “It’s a way for people to find out what colleagues are thinking, relax and stop e-mailing people across the room.”