Your Neolithic lunchroom may soon be a thing of the past, as workplaces bite into their profits in order to spit out worker-friendly gourmet cafeterias.
As companies in a variety of industries upgrade their normally dismal cafeterias to a grade ‘A’ quality dining experience, managers are becoming aware of the savory incentives that will help secure employee loyalty. New age cafeterias are going tray-less and opting for a variety of fast food and fine dining options to meet the needs of their varied workforces.
Beefing up the cafeteria is about more than just quality food; it’s about the experience. Allowing workers to truly relax can involve adding wireless internet, take-home dinners, cooking classes, music, entertainment centers, modern décor and even massages to enhance the lunchtime food mood.
The equation may seen too simple to be true, but full bellies = happy employees. Companies like Google have recently invested in human resources – through the bellies of their hungry employees. According to business researcher Tony DiRomualdo, by hiring premier chefs to feed its employees at no cost, (There is such a thing as a free lunch!) Google has taken competitive advantage to a new level. Providing a diverse menu that meets the needs of an equally diverse workforce, the company focuses on feeding the brains that, in turn, feed the company’s profit margins. Forking out at lunchtime has shown to assist in recruiting top talent while serving an extra helping of productivity.
Salivating on your keyboard may cause problems for the health of your computer, but are workers really suffering from lunch denial? US-based doctor MD Peter Done says that the consequences of skipping lunch include lethargy and exhaustion, not to mention limited cognitive ability. Working stiffs should be working stuffed!
Post-lunch brain-drain is often on the menu, as the 2006 Eurest Lunchtime Report shows that 20% of workers never take lunch breaks or choose to mow down at their desks instead. 44% of these respondents said they were such busy beavers; there wasn’t enough time to chow down away from the desk.
Too stressed out to take a lunch break? Try a good ol’ fashion hunger strike to let the boss know that your nutrition is more important than meeting deadlines. There’s no better way to guilt your employer into upgrading the lunch experience, unless of course it results in a force feeding of vending machine sandwiches.
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