The benefits packages available in modern offices are getting better by the day and more people are choosing to find jobs in companies that offer great perks. The standard of a gym membership and cycle to work scheme doesn’t quite cut it anymore, particularly when there are employees that may choose not to use them. It’s no wonder jobs at businesses like Google, Facebook and Airbnb are highly competitive when they are able to offer their employees $2000 travel stipends, rooms to nap in and free food.
Group catering is becoming increasingly popular with some companies providing meals for employees, including breakfast and even dinner. A good diet is known to increase productivity, focus and reduce levels of stress as well as making people generally happier.
Another aspect of office life that is increasingly prevalent is the number of people who choose to eat at their desks or work through their lunch break. While they may feel like they’re getting more work done, it’s actually detrimental to their productivity because we need breaks in order to work at our best. Some offices have decided to incorporate team feeding into their working day which has many benefits and can help cultivate a great atmosphere at work, here’s why you should consider implementing it.
What is team feeding?
Team feeding is where all staff can sit down and eat lunch together to maximise relationships and promote a more positive work environment. It can be done through group catering and meal prep services that will deliver the meals straight to your office or your home. It’s the ideal opportunity to bring your staff together, enjoy food and get to know each other.
Nutritional food means fewer sick days
While working from home is now more widely accepted, taking measures to ensure your employees don’t get ill will have benefits in the long run. Less work will get done if people are continually missing days and it will create more stress for those that have to make up lost time. While sickness is often unavoidable, it can be reduced by strengthening the immune system through nutritional food. Supplying your office with healthy food for breakfast and lunch is a great way to promote healthy eating among your employees and help them to feel stronger and more energised throughout the day.
Choosing group catering services means that healthy ready meals can be delivered to the homes of your employees to give them something to look forward to in the middle of the day, incorporate that with a group video call and you’ll find it boosts company morale a lot more than everyone choosing to sit on their phones for an hour.
Meal prep services increase productivity
Many of us are guilty of not taking any lunch to work because we’ve not woken up early enough or just have too much to do before 9 am. Combine that with staying at your desk during your lunch break and snacking on something unhealthy, you won’t be able to work at your best. There’s a reason we need to take breaks during the working day, it gives us a chance to refuel and reset for the rest of the afternoon and when you decide to skip this well needed interlude, it’s going to have an effect on how well you can focus and concentrate. A meal prep service will be able to provide healthy ready meals for your employees to enjoy together. A team feeding lunch break allows your employees the opportunity to join each other for a social rest where they are able to chat and get to know one another before continuing with the afternoon. This will promote productivity because employees will return to their desks feeling refreshed. In addition, team feeding will give colleagues an informal setting to chat and get to know each other, opening up a whole new level of communication. When your employees can communicate better, they will be able to work together more successfully. Since we spend most days with our colleagues, it only makes sense to form good strong relationships with them in order to make our jobs more enjoyable.
Providing healthy ready meals for employees that work from home is also beneficial. As they do not get to enjoy the usual benefits of working in the office such as free coffee and snacks, providing them with group catering food delivered to their door is a much better option and they can enjoy the food knowing everyone on their team is also eating that meal.
Team feeding is better than team-building activities
Team-building activities are sometimes more hassle than they’re worth. Forced participation in a team-building day doesn’t cultivate the right atmosphere for your employees to form bonds, especially when it’s only an annual event. Team feeding and group catering is a much better alternative to create year-round community spirit and maintain strong relationships.
Team feeding, even if done weekly or monthly, allows your employees to learn more about each other’s interests, hobbies and favourite films and create a discourse that exists outside of spreadsheets and morning meetings. While you may choose to eat meals together in the office, getting to know your colleagues while eating is a much more intimate environment than what they are used to, so garners a bit more bonding than discussing any work-related matters.
Invest in your team with nutritionist food
Providing food for your employees is not just a kind gesture but a way to invest in your team and ensure they want to stick around. Providing meals as part of a benefits package reflects well on your company and will not only make current employees want to stick around but also encourage strong new talent to apply. Boosting company morale with free food is a great way to increase employee retention, productivity and foster a culture of highly engaged employees. What isn’t always taken into consideration is the price of having to replace employees. Turnover costs can be as much as 20% of an employee's salary, so investing that money into retaining great workers will benefit your company in the long run.
If you invest in your employees they are much more likely to produce better results and provide a high performing business unit with good customer satisfaction and higher sales.
Meal prep services offer better food
There are many studies that show the link between good food and a good mood because our brains use around 20% of the energy produced by our bodies. If this is the case why are we not investing in healthy ready meals? Group catering is a great way to provide healthy and nutritious meals for colleagues, ensuring they have the option to eat food that will benefit them and their work. Many people don’t have time to plan and prepare a week's worth of meals so taking that responsibility off their shoulders and providing them with healthy ready meals will allow them more time for themselves to be mentally prepared for the workday ahead. Furthermore, enjoying these meals as part of a team will only maximise the benefits of the food.
Some employees may feel guilty for taking a lunch break and either skip meals or eat unhealthy foods at their desks in order to get the work done. Supplying your employees with food and encouraging them to join together to eat will remind them that they are allowed to take a break and they should make the most out of it.
POW Food offers meal prep services and nutritionist food solutions
POW Food is a meal delivery service that provides group catering solutions for your home and office. We offer healthy home delivery meals and office meals through our virtual kitchen making team feeding easier than ever. Our meals are specially designed by our in-house nutritionists and expertly prepared by our chefs to ensure every meal is delicious and can power you through the day. Our philosophy seeks to ensure our meals deliver food rich in nutrients without compromising on flavour and we target energy, performance and immunity so that your employees are consuming food with the highest quality ingredients and no preservatives, flavourings or additives.
Get in touch with our friendly team to discover the options for your workplace or call us on 0345 340 5397.
