Perhaps you’ve thought about offering breakfast for your office, but heard objections:
- Not everyone eats breakfast, so wouldn’t some folks feel left out?
- Food first thing in the morning delays the start of work, so wouldn’t it decrease productivity?
- A fancy coffee machine is our most popular office item, so shouldn’t that be enough?
These are all valid questions. To address them, here are a few of the reasons you should seriously consider providing breakfast for your team:
1) To Show You Care
Providing breakfast for the office conveys to employees that their well-being matters to you. And in a world where our lives feel like they’re moving a thousand miles a minute, a gesture like breakfast can show your office that you truly care.
In fact, according to a survey conducted by Food Insight, 93 percent of Americans agree that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. And yet, only 44 percent are eating it every day. That needs to change.
Here are a few of the types of people to keep in mind who are hungry in the office in the morning:
- Those who can’t stomach food first thing in the morning
- Those who are not morning people and wake up as late as possible to still reach the office on time
- Those who don’t make breakfast at home because they’re trying not to wake their families by clanging dishes or skillets in the morning
- Those who are morning people and have already been awake for hours and are ready for a second breakfast
- Those who have medical reasons for having to eat at certain intervals or times of day
According to the Business News Daily, a recent Glassdoor study found that 46 percent of employees would feel more appreciated if their boss gave them an unexpected treat, like a snack, lunch, dinner, or thank you note. At the end of the day, employees want to know that you care and that their hard work is valued. Delicious food is a perfect way to do that, first thing in the day.
2) To Improve Team Productivity
Caffeine is the breakfast of choice for many workers. When employees reach for the nearest pot of coffee upon walking into the office, they fail to realize that they’re actually doing themselves a disservice. When you neglect to eat breakfast, your body is missing the essential nutrients that it needs to give your brain the productivity boost that it desperately needs. The time taken to eat a balanced breakfast in the morning turns into hours of increased productivity and mental alertness.
The World Health Organization has stated that when the right foods are consumed, brain power can actually increase by as much as 20 percent. But without that breakfast brain boost in the morning, your employees are missing out on the fuel that they need to have a productive workday. Providing breakfast for your office not only benefits your employees, but it provides value to the company through an increase in work efficiency and output.
3) To Boost Employee Happiness
It’s no secret that food makes people happy. So, bringing in a delicious office breakfast can start the day off on a positive note. Not only will it make your team feel energized for the workday, but it will increase employee happiness and satisfaction.
For example, the assistant managing editor of Fortune says that perks like free food can produce happier employees who “work harder, are more engaged, have stronger feelings of attachment to the company and are less likely to leave. They pay dividends in so many ways.” In fact, 67 percent of those at jobs with free food reported such levels of satisfaction, according to a recent study.
Snack Nation found that companies that have happy employees outperform their competition by 20%. Employees who have something to look forward to in the morning, like an office breakfast, are happier.
It’s time to bring breakfast to your office to start the workday off right. Your employees will be happier, productivity will increase, and employee satisfaction will improve. Let us help place your next breakfast order today.
