Small actions can often lead to substantial improvements in the workplace, and there's a surprising ingredient that could be the key to unlocking these benefits: coffee.
Offering a complimentary coffee service in your office breakroom is not just a perk; it's an investment in your company's productivity and employee satisfaction.
In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore the top three compelling reasons why providing a superior coffee experience isn't just a nicety - it's a necessity. From bolstering morale and fostering a culture of appreciation to facilitating increased alertness and better interpersonal connections among staff, the value of this simple amenity runs deep.
By the end of this article, you will be well-equipped with the knowledge to make an informed decision on enhancing the coffee experience in your workspace.
The evolution of the office breakroom/waiting room.
The pandemic didn't just change how we work, it evolved it.
Many office managers have recognized this shift in worker attitude. They're transforming the breakroom into a vibrant, inviting employee space. They're upgrading their customer waiting room into a relaxing locale — with coffee as the centerpiece.
Also, let's not forget how evolution works. When an entity is transformed, it often gets an upgrade in the form of new, beneficial abilities.
In this case, we've highlighted three valuable benefits to upgrading your office coffee service.
#1. Caffeine boosts your energy. Among other things.
Coffee increases employee productivity through brain activity - and it can also boost employee morale.1
Affecting how people feel about their employer might seem like a tall order for a caffeinated beverage, but the data supports it.
Eight out of 10 office workers would feel more valued as an employee if their organization offered high-quality beverages.1 And 60% of them would like their office to update both the coffee machine and the type of coffee they offer.1
#2. An evolved breakroom can stimulate employee cohesion.
Employee cohesion is loosely defined as how connected an employee is to their fellow employees. It's one of the most important factors in both productivity and job satisfaction.2
Here's why: when your employees work well together and have good cohesion, they tend to naturally share valuable work knowledge, attitudes and support. They talk about managing situations, people and work-life balance.
These conversations usually occur where your employees naturally congregate, like in an office breakroom.
Here's another way to think of it: bonding with co-workers and teams is the number one reason why employees want to return to the office in the first place.3
Sharing a tasty cup of free coffee gives them that perfect bonding opportunity.
Good employee cohesion leads to better productivity and higher worker retention, which contribute to a healthy bottom line. And you get all that for the cost of quality coffee.
#3. A transformed breakroom with excellent coffee can improve worktime efficiency.
Being chained to a desk is just a figure of speech, so it's no surprise that more than 75% of people leave their workplace during business hours to get a beverage from a local store.4 And over half of them leave because their beverage of choice isn't available where they work.4
That all adds up to a mind-boggling amount of lost worker productivity that you can actually measure in dollars:
Let's suppose you have 100 employees.
And 75% of them leave work three days a week to buy their preferred coffee beverage.4
Factor in the average time taken on off-premise coffee excursions (16.4 minutes).1
Also, factor in the average hourly wage of your workforce (the U.S. average is $33.82 per hour).
Using these numbers, your company could be looking at over $100,000 in lost productivity each year.
If you calculate your company's lost productivity in dollars using our formula, here's what you'll find: in most cases, the capital investment required to evolve your breakroom and provide a quality coffee service should be LESS than the amount you're wasting on lost worker productivity.
Congratulations! You now have a compelling business case that could transform your CFO into an advocate for funding a complimentary coffee service.
The key takeaway.
When you champion the practice of providing a complimentary coffee service to your employees, you can expect a handsome return on investment.
This ROI can be found in improved worker morale, employee cohesion and increased productivity compared to the lost hours of work spent on all those offsite coffee trips.
