Coffee in the Workplace
Today, many people spend more time at work than at any other place. By allowing coworkers to build relationships in the workplace isn’t just crucial for projects or teams, but also for improving your employees’ productivity and sanity.
Going to work and feeling as if you’re in a room of strangers, and feeling that way for a majority of your week, isn’t appealing. If a person looks forward to going to work to see people they know, they’re likely going to show up earlier or perform better.
The American Psychological Association concluded that being friends with your co-workers “can increase job satisfaction, productivity, and job commitment while decreasing stress and turnover.”
Taking a coffee break together allows employees to bond as friends, as well as to network within their team and share resources or brainstorm. By supplying the coffee for employees to do this, you’re providing a way for employees to engage and increase potential work productivity.
Combined employee coffee breaks also allow employees to socialize with each other during a quick break rather than throughout the day, and allows for employees from separate departments to talk shop.
Maybe the head of marketing didn’t realize the strain that was happening in the accounting department. By catching up while pouring some coffee, the marketing director can recognize that she should do her very best to cut down on costs, which will improve the business and workplace productivity as a whole.
Benefits of Drinking Coffee
Caffeine, which is the primary purpose of drinking coffee, is a stimulant.
That means caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, letting neurotransmitters that are associated with alertness work their magic and prevent drowsiness. Caffeine also increases neuron firing, which stimulates adrenaline production. Colorado natives are familiar with caffeine consumption, as evidenced by popular coffee companies along the Front Range, which have been growing steadily.
In turn, adrenaline production causes physical changes that result in alertness, specifically in those who are tired, improvement in short term memory, improvement in long term memory, specifically in recalling details, and a boost in mood.
Employee productivity increases with these improvements because of the ability to process information faster, which makes you more productive. The easier it is to remember things, and the more alert you are, the easier it is to concentrate on an important project or client.
These benefits aren’t even including the increase in energy from the caffeine in coffee. According to the American Medical Association, “moderate tea or coffee drinking likely has no negative effect on health, as long as you live an otherwise healthy lifestyle.”
While the American Medical Association cannot provide a glowing review for the caffeinated drink, the organization does inform us that most of our concerns about caffeine’s adverse effects are dispelled.
In fact, according to the Nurses’ Health Study, concentrated amounts of caffeine can increase positivity in real time. A positive mindset is linked to better productivity, and as long as coffee is consumed steadily, it’s possible to avoid a caffeine or sugar crash that employees could experience with other caffeinated beverages.
Provide Coffee, For Less!
One of the significant downfalls for providing free coffee to employees is the price. Yes, you can place a box for contributions next to the coffee machine or even have employees take turns bringing in coffee themselves, but in reality, not everyone who drinks coffee will donate which makes the pool unfair to other employees.
The type of coffee maker businesses use has changed as well, which also brings a higher cost to employers.
Many places have switched from using a large industrial brewer or even a smaller coffee pot to using Keurigs or K-cup brewers for a few reasons. The coffee was sitting in the pot on a warmer, which made the coffee turn stale and bitter, or one employee brewed the pot to their personal preference, which could be too light or too dark for others.
Either way, employees didn’t like the taste of the coffee. Add the fact that much of the coffee was likely low quality and the water used was unfiltered tap water, and if the taste of the coffee wasn’t spoiled before, it was now.
Matchmaking Beans to the Best Water
Much of the taste of coffee is dependant on the water rather than the coffee bean, so if your office doesn’t have bottled water or a water filtration system, it’s an excellent investment to keep employees happy and productive. This investment can range from signing up for your local bottled water delivery services to renting a readily available filtered water dispenser.
But what about the price? By making a few changes, you’ll find that what seems like an extra cost but instead could reduce the cost of coffee at work.
Switch to filtered water and invest in a modern commercial drip coffeemaker – specifically one that stores coffee in an airtight thermal carafe. A portable carafe that allows conveniently brewed coffee in a conference room is a good investment too. All of these will reduce the price because the coffee’s taste will improve, meaning the need to buy k-cups or high-end coffee beans will be unnecessary.
The most important thing to remember about offering coffee at work is that it can improve an employee’s sense of well-being. Yes, coffee machines and high-quality products cost money, but by making an employee feel valued because of a free cup of coffee, he or she will feel the need to be more productive for the better of the company. That alone is worth the cost.
Improving Employee Productivity is Possible!
As an employer, you want to ensure that all work is done efficiently, and this starts with the status of your employees. By providing employees with fresh coffee that’s readily available in the workplace, this ensures the employee feels highly valued. The combination of positive workplace environments alongside sufficient coffee break time can greatly increase employee productivity.
Although the best coffee products may come with a higher price tag, these roasts can give employees the caffeine boost they need to push through a busy day without burnout. Using a quality filtered water system connected to your modern coffee machine can provide employees with the best-tasting brews they need to keep your business at the top.
More To Read About Coffee
Find out how Clearly Colorado can supply your office with a new coffee machine and water delivery service to fit your business’ needs:
Benefits of Bean-to-Cup Coffee Machines in Your Office