Why Employees Need To Break Bread Together

The old saying that the “families that eat together, stay together,” may soon be the mantra at the workplace based on a new study from Cornell University.

Cornell researchers investigated how shared meals among city firefighters in more than 50 firehouses helped foster greater collaboration and bonding.  Using interviews and surveys of firefighters and supervisors, the researchers were able to show that the firefighters who ate and cooked meals together scored higher on surveys measuring cooperative behavior and better work-group performance. In essence, the employees that eat together, work better together.

 “Employers should consider introducing spaces for employee mealtime in order to improve cooperation and performance among workers,” suggests lead author Kevin Kniffin, PhD, of Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics.  This study could not have come at a better time as a news consumer survey by the Hartman Group shows that desktop dining is the new norm as over 45 percent of American are eating lunch alone.

In his book, Slim by Design, Brain Wansink, PhD, professor and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, and also one of the researchers in the Cornell study, provides science-based strategies for employers to make workplace environments healthier and more appealing places for employees to bond and break bread together.   According to Wansink, if  the lunchroom exudes the chilling atmosphere of an interrogation room with ugly furniture, work safety signs doubling as art, and “a microwave with brown stains from burrito explosions,” it’s no wonder the employees are exiting the building at lunchtime in hunt of a fast food joint.

Rather, employers can inexpensively makeover their employees’ lunchroom to encourage communal eating.  For example, Wansink worked with company and advised them to repaint the drab lunchroom room, adding better lightening, new appliances, comfy chairs, a nice dining table, and eye-appealing wall hangings.  They also replaced some of the options in the vending machine with healthier lunch and snack options.   As an additional carrot to get the employees to bond together at lunch, Wansink recommended that there be free fresh fruit daily in the lunchroom. The company purchased inexpensive bananas, placed them in a decorative bowl in the middle of the table, and with a month, the lunchroom become busier than Macy’s on Black Friday.   The lunchroom become the place to enjoy lunch, bond with their co-workers, and get a free serving of fruit to boot.

Bottom line:  Sprucing up the employee lunchroom and adding some healthy food options may actually help improve a company’s bottom line.  Throwing in a bunch of free bananas wouldn’t hurt either.


Be well, Joan

Twitter:  @JoanSalgeBlake