Across the country, many companies are reopening offices that may have been empty for over a year. While acknowledging the benefits and flexibility of remote work, management is eager for employees to return to the office, at least some of the time. Managers see the value of face-to-face collaboration for productivity and efficiency, but also place importance on the intangibles; the team-building and socialization aspects of working in the same room together.
Many organizations are returning to in-person work with a hybrid working model, meaning that employees will have the flexibility to work both at home and in person. So, how do these companies motivate their employees to work on site more often? To find out, we surveyed 600 employees and managers who are figuring out how to reopen their offices successfully post-COVID. It turns out, food plays a very big role.
70% of respondents say that they’ll be more likely to return to the office if their company provides free or subsidized lunches, noting that it would make the transition back to work easier. And 93% of office leaders observe that more employees show up at the office on days when free food is offered.
It’s clear that the way to a team’s hearts is through their stomachs, and 83% of the catering decision makers we surveyed agree that providing food is a critical piece of their company’s return-to-office strategy. To learn more about the crucial role of food in your office reopening plan, as well as what other incentives resonate with returning workers, download our report: Motivating Employees to Come in to the Hybrid Office.