Offering your employees an on-site cafeteria may seem like an antiquated or misguided idea. Companies that have one tend to have happier employees working for them for a longer period of time. Here are some of the benefits that you may experience by providing a company cafeteria to your employees.
Increased Team Cohesion
Employees that are encouraged to eat together often develop stronger relationships. This is because they feel as though they can talk more freely about other issues. They may be able to share with each other outside of the standard workplace setting. This may allow them to garner more respect for each other. In general, a shared meal can bring people closer together. Promoting interoffice dialogue is the first step to creating cohesion in the workplace.
Healthier Alternatives
Employees that have access to healthier alternatives will tend to make better dietary decisions. You may find that your employees overall health improves. This could benefit everyone because health increase premiums could drop. Less health issues tends to equal less health claims. You may be able to negotiate a lower rate with your insurance company. This could save everyone a little bit of money over the lifetime of your company cafeteria.
Improved Productivity
There’s a lot of lost productivity time if employees have to leave campus to grab meals and snacks. Having an on-site cafeteria could cut down on the amount of work time that’s lost. Another benefit is that employees won’t experience the after lunch slump. They can just go and quickly grab a pick-me-up without having to leave campus. This could help them to get through the rest of the day functioning at peak capacity. Less lost work time directly benefits your company.
Company Perk
A company cafeteria can be advertised as one of the perks that you offer. You may be able to roll it into the benefits package. One solution to doing this is that you offer discounted rates on the food. This could allow you to pay less for salaries, but still retain your employees. Some people are more willing to take a lower paying job if the benefits are considered more valuable. They may be bragging to their friends about the fact that they have access to a company provided cafeteria.
There are numerous unsung benefits when it comes to providing a company cafeteria to your employees. Make it easier to handle the transactions for you and your employees using a point of sales system.
