How can you make staff happy without breaking the bank?

Here at Bolt, we have one recommendation: feed your workers. Providing workers with meals improves their attitude, retention rate, and productivity. Think about hungry kids in classrooms. Students that are hungry are not effective learners because they can’t concentrate.

Being hungry impacts adults just like it impacts students. We all know a hangry coworker, friend, or significant other. Thoughts about food prevent us from doing our best work, which creates costs for employers and managers due to lost productivity.

Providing employees with a free meal is a simple way to make them more productive. It doesn’t always have to be lunch. Surprise them with a bagel and cream cheese breakfast! Start slow. You don’t have to go from never providing a meal to sponsoring lunch every day. Over time, you can increase the company-sponsored meals, particularly if you notice that they make your workers more productive.

How does this investment benefit your company? Company-wide meals boost morale and increase productivity up to 150%. Business.org finds that these lunches make employees feel more connected to each other. Food brings people together. If you want to create a connected workforce, give your team something to share. Your company benefits when your employees get along, no matter what industry you’re in. Whether your staff are administrative professionals, forklift drivers, bookkeepers or paralegals, a little bit of food goes a long way to keeping your people happy, full, and productive.

Still skeptical? Don’t take our word for it! Look at the companies that provide meals for their employees: Facebook, Google and TripAdvisor, to name a few. All of these booming businesses  have excellent company culture. Sure, you might not have the budget for Michelin star catering 5 days a week – even a little bit goes a long way!

How should you get started? We recommend a simple bagel breakfast or pizza with salad options for lunch. Our rule of thumb is that there should be at least 1 vegetarian option with each meal.

Feeding your workers improves morale, productivity, and company culture. All at the cost of a couple pizzas!