6 Reasons Why Having Food At Work Keeps People Happy
It’s very easy to take productivity to mean a lack of breaks, constant work, and no pause. When there are deadlines on the horizon and more work coming in, taking a moment to well, have a Kit-Kat, might feel counterproductive and wasteful. However, the opposite is actually true…
Having a balanced office structure that encourages your teams to catch their breath can do wonders for your office culture. It can increase productivity, boost team morale, show employee appreciation, and enhance satisfaction. And what better way to do this than to give your staff a well-deserved lunch break with an office food program? Feed the masses, we say!
Are you wondering how offering meals to your staff could benefit your company? Maybe you're hoping to understand how spending money on food affects your bottom line when it appears to be an added expense?
Well, keep reading to find out the top reasons why providing food at the office leaves employees satisfied and happy. We’ll also show other benefits of providing food at work and give you the best examples from big brands.
Here is a list of six reasons why you should really consider having food at work:
1. Missed Meals Lead to “Hangry” Workers
“Hangry” has become the go-to term to describe the symptoms that arise when lunchtime is taking a bit too lunch to come around or you've missed a meal all together. When we skip meals, we deprive our body of important nutrients that help it function. It’s like failing to put gas in your car but still expecting it to run.
Without food, blood sugar levels may drop, leading to:
Exhaustion
Heightened stress level
Irritability or 'hangry' moods
Slow responsiveness and brain fog
Decreased concentration and attentiveness
Sluggish performance
2. Food Can Boost Productivity (and Retention)
Not only is food important, but the kind of food we eat has a direct effect on how our brains and bodies function. By offering nutritious meals for your staff (like the ones on our menu) you can help to enhance moods, performance and well-being. It's a win-win-win! We want to help people feel like the best versions of themselves which is why every one of our meal offerings contains full serving of fruits or vegetables. So you're helping yourself regardless of what you choose.
Some interesting points to keep in mind when leveraging this relationship between food, well-being, and productivity include:
Eating meals with high carb levels can negatively affect your productivity. Having high-carb breakfasts impacts brain hormones (tryptophan and serotonin). And these hormones affect your focus, cognition, and mood.
Food with high sugar levels can cause inconsistent work ethic, affecting overall employee performance. You may experience brief energy peaks followed by low, unproductive dips.
When you are hungry, your stomach releases a hormone called ghrelin. This hormone can affect your impulsivity and decision-making capabilities.
Your diet has a direct effect on your sleeping patterns, which impact productivity, alertness, and focus.
So, essentially, you want to provide healthy, nutritious, and balanced foods that will fuel your employees rather than drain them. This is a sure-fire way to create a happier, more productive work environment. Luckily for you, we at Farmer’s Fridge can help you get this right!
Let us stock your office with fresh ready-to-eat, portable salads, bowls, wraps, and more. Our diverse menu covers breakfast, lunch, and even snacks.
3. Promotes Employee Interactions
Collaboration is important for smooth working environments. When workers ‘gel’, they work better together and as a result, projects run smoother. However, with more individualized workspaces, it can be difficult for employees to find time to, well... gel.
In-office canteens and food corners can be an employee benefit that encourages interactions and creative brainstorms. Those chats by the coffee machine can be just what your staff needs to nurture relationships that can have bearing on office productivity. As a matter of fact, it may not be a bad idea to have snacks and small meals during less formal meetings as it can encourage a more open environment and increase engagement.
4. One Less Thing for Employees to Stress About
A lot of effort goes into maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, and it can be difficult for working individuals. There just isn’t time to prepare and cook meals after a long day’s work! Even that haunting question of “what am I gonna have for lunch tomorrow?” can be a source of unneeded stress.
Give your staff (and yourself) one less thing to worry about – we've already done all the work. We've already taken care of the shopping, meal prepping, planning, chopping, cooking, and packaging. It may not seem like much but, trust us, the time saved on these tasks can make a big difference and help everyone spend more time elsewhere.
Thirty minutes that would've been spent over the stove then turns into thirty extra minutes to run through that big pitch again for tomorrow. You also won't have to worry about people coming in late from lunch and missing tasks because they were held up at the local coffee shop or deli waiting for their order.
5. It Can Save You Money
Another benefit your company can gain from giving workers meals is cost savings. When your company provides meals or meal subsidies and allowances to staff, you qualify for tax benefits. This is because meal provision falls under non-monetary allowance, meaning you don't have to pay any labor wage costs for them. They are excluded from labor wage costs.
This will also make your employees very happy because fee fringe benefit tax deductions mean their gross income increases.
6. Boosts Morale and Helps with Employee Retention
Providing food can do wonders for employee morale. As a workplace perk, food provision can make workers feel valued, help show that you care for their wellbeing, and encourage a sense of community. These benefits can impact how workers feel about their value as individuals in your organization.
Employee morale and well-being have a direct impact on your bottom line, too! 50% of workers would sacrifice their pay for a job they love and over 40% of employees would accept a pay reduction in exchange for their company’s investment in their health and well-being.
Considering these numbers, then, prioritizing well-being affects your company's ability to retain workers. And you want to do so because losing workers is costly. Replacing one employee can cost your company from half to twice that worker’s annual pay. With this high cost of replacing employees, it’s much better to work on keeping the workers you have already by making sure they’re happy and healthy!