Every employer should be looking for new ways to improve office culture and keep their employees feeling happy and content. After all, when morale is high, productivity improves, and the office is simply an all-around happier place to be.
Many employers might think that in order to accomplish this, though, they need to go to great lengths. However, it’s not necessary to arrange an entire company vacation for this to happen—sometimes all it takes is a piping hot cup o’ Joe.
Here are 5 ways coffee helps to improve office culture.
Coffee can often serve as a form of liquid motivation. Aside from keeping your employees awake and alert, it gives them something to look forward to when coming into the office. Especially if the office is home to a nice machine that makes more than your average brew, then you can expect employees to be excited to come into the office for things like lattes and other delicious beverages.
The coffee machine is the new water cooler! Office workers congregate around it and chat about the day’s events, their personal lives, what’s going on in the office or with the organization, and more. This promotes closer personal relationships among your employees and, as a result, improved office culture and boosted employee morale. If you get to know the people you work with better, you’re more likely to enjoy their company—and, as a result, like the place that you work!
Who doesn’t love coffee? Sure, you find the rare exception of people who prefer tea or water, but they truly are rare beings indeed (who can go power through their day without the help of a massive dose of caffeine, anyway?). Because coffee is something that so many people love, it creates a positive activity to take part in and walk away from the desk for a few minutes to clear their head. By the time they return to what they’re doing, they may have a fresh perspective or a new angle in mind from which to tackle the project at hand!
If you stand by the coffee maker all day and listen—aside from getting a few looks from people wondering what in the world you’re doing—you’re likely to hear countless instances of “Oh, I’m glad I ran into you!” or “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something!” Having incredible coffee in the office is a great way to help encourage spontaneous meetings amongst your employees!
By giving employees something to do away from their desk for a few moments, the act of walking around the office to the coffee machines, and preparing their coffee precisely the way they like, it will give them a few minutes to clear their head, and enter a new space. With it, very often, it’s much easier to enter a new frame of mind as well. It’s easier to foster more creative thinking and originality! By the time your employee returns to their desk, they very well may have thoughts of a groundbreaking solution to a problem they’ve been having, or they may be inspired to think of an incredible way to improve a function in your company.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, we know that coffee is an integral part of how we live our lives. While some individuals may not be among the coffee loving group, we do live in a major coffee-culture. As a result, it only makes sense that this coffee culture should be integrated into our offices and workspaces. And with it, as it happens, a lot of benefits can come about as well!