With the right amount of effort, breakfast can be the best (and most important) meal of the day. Plus, with a wide range of options like the full English, overnight oats, toast or even left-over pizza, there isn’t much you can’t eat for the first meal of the day. However, new research has revealed that 1 in 5 people skip breakfast altogether.
To combat this, it is becoming a trend for employers to introduce team breakfasts in their employees’ routines and encourage them to start the day off with a healthy and nutritional meal. Here are a few benefits that businesses can reap from organising a team breakfast.
1. Stronger friendships between co-workers
Making time for a team brekkie encourages employees to connect with each other, which will inevitably strengthen relationships in the workplace. It’s the perfect opportunity to get everyone away from their desks to discuss a range of different topics and ideas in a relaxed environment. This creates an open and healthy work culture, where professional work friendships can develop. In fact, a positive working environment, where socialising is supported, is becoming more of a requirement when people are job hunting.
The average British worker spends 37.5 hours a week at work, which is a sizable amount of time spent with peers. Not only does this time allow co-workers to establish friendships, but companies can also benefit from the higher levels of efficiency as a result of the improved morale. Employees can also seek help from their colleagues, instead of leaning heavily on managers and higher-ups. So, with the power of breakfast, businesses can achieve better employee integration and help prepare staff to start their day off in the best way possible.
2. A fit and healthy team
Breakfast is an easy way to incorporate nutrient-rich foods like fruit, eggs and vegetables into diets. And, by supplying your staff with the right food (and the opportunity to eat it), you can help improve their overall health and well-being. This can lead to a decrease in the number of absences and sick days taken by workers, as fresh vitamins and minerals can nip nasty viruses in the bud before they take hold.
Not only does providing a healthy brekkie combat illness, but it can provide ample fuel for the working day ahead, preventing and discouraging people from mindlessly reaching for unhealthy snacks. This further promotes a healthy diet and lifestyle that can keep your employees in tip-top condition.
3. Higher levels of efficiency
Even though introducing a regular breakfast slot may seem to be counterproductive in terms of timekeeping, it can save employees, and your business, a lot of time further down the line. Allowing staff time to ease into the day can help improve productivity, but it’s also a great way to supply them with enough energy to complete work tasks to a higher standard. In turn, this can cut back on valuable time wasted when employees go in search of the perfect 10:30 am snack.
4. Better work/life balance
To some, breakfast is a regularly scheduled event that is not worth missing, but with lives getting busier, this isn’t always the case. Whether it’s other priorities like dropping the kids off at school, fitting in a gym class, long commutes or simply because some people can’t stomach food so early. This doesn’t mean they don’t want it, they simply don’t have the time. In fact, the research states that 21% (double the national average) of 16-24-year olds are skipping breakfast because it doesn’t fit in with their schedules. By providing people with the food, and the time, to start their day off right, it can lead to happier and more productive employees.
5. A feel-good working environment
Nothing unites people quite as much as free food. It’s the great universal homing beacon that people flock to and is a great asset to utilise. When people feel that the company they work hard for is appreciative of the work they do, it inspires a sense of loyalty. A free brekkie is the perfect way to keep them healthy, boost employee morale and create a positive work culture.
