When you think about improving business results, what strategies come to mind? Perhaps you consider setting clearer team goals, improving communication, or adding new processes. Or maybe you plan to implement employee perks like flexible working hours and tuition assistance.
All those are great ideas, but one office perk stands out from the rest thanks to its cost-effectiveness and far-reaching impact: food.
Our 2023 report, Food for Work: Fueling America’s Workplace, unveiled just how essential catered meals are in the office. The HR professionals surveyed were nearly 20% more likely to say that food for work is the number one perk that provides the best value for its price.
Let’s discover why.
How food can fuel business results
Food for work comes in many forms: healthy office snacks, celebratory meals, daily boxed lunches, and buffet meals for clients. Regardless of the event or food type, office catering produces results that make food for work well worth the cost.
Food motivates attendance
Even though we are now in a post-pandemic environment, less than half of employees work full-time onsite. While only 5% are fully remote, 46% now work in a hybrid environment. That flexibility appeals to workers but stunts workplace collaboration and efficiency when only a portion of employees are in the office daily.
The solution? It’s not enforcing mandatory attendance and strict policies. Instead, the answer is incentivizing employees with free, catered meals.
And this approach works. Almost 90% of employers surveyed agreed that offering food encourages people to come into the office. They still have the freedom to work from home, but the fact that they’ll receive a free lunch at work makes the commute all the more worthwhile.
When employees want to come to work (even to enjoy a meal), that completely changes the atmosphere and contributes to a vibrant — and more effective — workplace culture.
Food improves performance and productivity
Keeping productivity up throughout the entire 8-hour+ workday is hard.
Employees may struggle to get back into the same pace after taking their hour break, especially if they spent it traveling to find food. And then there are the 30% of workers (and 67% of educators) who skip the lunch break and eat at their desks. While this may seem productive, the constant focus on work can contribute to burnout and actually lower overall productivity.
Employers can offer workplace meals to help both groups of employees maintain their energy and efficiency throughout the day. For the 45% of people that use their lunch break to travel and deal with outside stressors like traffic, having food in the office can provide a more relaxing break. And for those who typically eat at their desks, a catered meal can pull them away from their work and offer a much-needed mental break.
The effects of a simple office meal are impressive. Our survey found that over 50% of workers feel more productive when their employer provides food, and 42% say the quality of their work increases.
Food helps with hiring and retention
While the employee quit rate has decreased since 2022, it hasn’t lowered much. In April 2023, almost 3.8 million U.S. workers quit their jobs, highlighting the ongoing struggle with retention. Not only are employers struggling with retention, but they’re also having trouble finding people to fill those gaps. According to the 2023 ManpowerGroup Talent Shortage survey, 77% of employers struggle to find skilled talent — an all-time high.
The ManpowerGroup found that most employers are addressing these issues by offering more workplace and scheduling flexibility. But then that can affect workplace productivity and culture when not everyone is in the office at the same time.
Perks like catered food can draw potential candidates to your company. In fact, our survey found that half of employees are more likely to accept a job offer at a business that offers office meals. And free office meals make current employees feel valued and cared for, which can help increase retention.
Food increases engagement
Employee retention isn’t just about showing them you care — although that is a significant part! It’s also about keeping them engaged.
A recent Gallup report found that U.S. employee engagement decreased in 2022 after ten years of steady improvement. When employees are disengaged at work, they affect overall productivity and become more likely to quit.
Food for work can help boost employee engagement and, in turn, the retention rate. Over 80% of employees surveyed agreed that workplace food fosters collaboration and connection with colleagues. And 46% said that receiving office meals makes them more likely to stay at their jobs.
Why food is one of the best employee perks
Not only does food help improve business, but it’s an exciting perk for workers. Free food actually ranks as the number one employee perk, much higher than other go-to perks like flexible work arrangements, wellness benefits, and tuition assistance.
Here are three reasons why employees appreciate free or subsidized food so much.
Saves them money
People go to work to earn money, not spend it. They already have to invest in gas or public transportation costs to get to work, and spending money on lunch increases that daily bill even more.
Even though packing a lunch is an option, it’s not always feasible on a daily basis with hectic work schedules and long commutes. Plus, packing lunch still costs money.
When we surveyed employees, almost two-thirds said they spent at least $10 on each lunch. That means someone who works onsite every day can easily spend over $200 just on lunches — $200 that comes out of their paychecks and could go to something more useful like rent or phone bills.
The simple act of regularly offering lunches — whether it’s one a week or five days a week — can save employees a significant amount of money. And that’s something everyone can appreciate.
Helps them feel valued
We’ve briefly touched on this, but it’s worth reiterating. Providing employees with food for work makes them feel valued and want to contribute more to the company.
Nearly 90% of employees surveyed said they feel appreciated when an employer provides food. And another 60% feel less stress with workplace meals since they don’t have to leave the office, look for lunch, and then pay for it.
Helps them eat healthier
When employees have a full schedule — which happens more often than not — they often don’t have time to pick healthy options. Convenience often trumps healthy foods, which might mean fast food, vending machine lunches, or even no lunch. This is a significant issue in the workplace, with 62% of employees expressing a desire to eat healthier during their workday.
When employers provide food for work, they can ensure that their workers have a full, healthy meal. And, of course, that means a lot to employees working on a tight schedule.
Improve your business with food for work
The numbers are undeniable. Food for work impacts the entire company, from business results to employee satisfaction. Learn more about implementing food for work into your employee perks program by downloading ezCater’s recent report, Food for Work: Fueling America’s Workplace.