There is an entertaining article in the BBC News Magazine this morning on the rise of people eating breakfast at work. The writer argues that is nothing sacred as we try to convert our offices into extensions of our home. I for one am a great believer in breakfast at work, especially when all employees partake and organised by the business.
We have been providing breakfast for a few years now and I believe the return on investment for the business has been significant. It would be something I would recommend to any new company starting up as the first ‘perk’ to offer to staff.
Breakfast is one of those meals often missed, especially as our commutes into the office become more excruciating and unpredictable. Better to be able to leave more time to make it in and then, when relaxed, enjoy breakfast before your day starts. I rarely used to have anything to eat in the morning but since offering it in the morning my concentration and fitness have all benefited. It also provides a good source of morning banter as colleagues discuss their previous night’s exploits.
The investment for the business is low, being one of the cheaper meals to provide, but sets the tone for the rest day. I agree with the writer from the BBC however in that eating at the desk is an annoyance, and one of the reasons we insist all meals are eaten in our kitchen. We also stipulate a finish time for breakfast so it doesn’t perpetuate into the late morning. Other than that it looks after itself and employees appreciate the benefit.
It is definitely a sign of our modern times, but compared to the propagation of mobile email and other more invasive working changes to our lives, breakfast at works seems more like a positive to me.
You can definitely see the benefits of this…….. what a healthy looking youngster you photographed!
You have inspired us, we are trying it from next week.
What sort of things do you offer for breakfast?
Any other tips you can provide?
We do a shop once a week from Ocado which includes milk, cereal, juice, fruit, bread, bakery items, jam etc. Probably as we grow we will need to increase this to two deliveries a week but at the moment it just lasts us (and the fridge is just big enough).
I think organisation is the only key bit to get right, ie who washes up and when (puts the dishwasher on), when items get replaced and clearing up spillages. Easy to get out of hand and then spend most of your time putting the office right, should be pretty much self administered. You can always say that it wont be provided anymore if it isn’t respected!