Should Companies Provide Free Lunch to Employees

Providing free lunch to employees at the workplace is a common practice in companies all over the globe. Around a decade ago, Apple and Google were among the pioneers when they provided free lunch facility to their employees. Fast-forward to modern times, there are several organizations—both SMEs and large enterprises—that have adopted such a program. Here is why you consider providing free lunch to your employees.

1. Stand Out Among Recruiters

With a free lunch plan, you can make your company look desirable to recruitment agencies and job hunters. Apart from offering better work-life balance, the sight of free lunch indicates to prospective candidates that your organization is dedicated to providing a healthy work environment to their employees.

As a perk, free lunch is increasingly gaining popularity. By refusing to add it to your benefits, you may put yourself a disadvantage when attracting the best talent out there. Glassdoor reveals that 57% of job seekers list down perks and benefits as one of their leading considerations while deciding for a job offer.

2. Increase Productivity

Healthy lunch refuels human bodies and rejuvenates them to perform better throughout their shifts. There is a reason why employees eating a healthy lunch can get an increase of 150% in productivity whereas 46% employees focus better during the afternoon.

3. Generate More Value Out of Meetings

It is a terrific idea to schedule a meeting during lunch. It serves as an incentive to make all the employees attend the meeting. It also ensures that the meeting is short and concise, diving straight to the important aspects.

You can also raise the engagement level of your employees with lunch meetings. Since 65% of employees are busy in other work during a conference call, free lunch can make them avoid from using their laptop or checking their phones.

4. Improve Collaboration across the Organization

The relationships between employees are strengthened when personal connections are formed. During the routine activities, it is difficult to develop this bond. This is where free lunch catering can be effective in improving relationships between team members.

During lunch, employees often sit together and discuss non-work matters. In this way, they can also become friends with individuals from other departments, boosting collaboration across the organization.

5. Control Employee Turnover Rate

The biggest reason behind high employee turnover is job dissatisfaction among employees. You can minimize this issue by providing benefits that employees prefer the most. Interestingly, many employees choose more benefits over a pay raise. Moreover, millennials have shown a special affinity for food. Recently, they went ahead of the Generation X and became the leading generation among the U.S. workforce. Therefore, free lunch can appeal to a large segment of prospective candidates.