I've always viewed it as a work expense. The guy bringing his lunch misses out on the conversations that happen and friendships that form over lunch. Whether it

I've always viewed it as a work expense. The guy bringing his lunch misses out on the conversations that happen and friendships that form over lunch. Whether it's technical conversations, office gossip or just discussing life events, it's an important bonding experience that more easily leads to becoming a close-knit team. There's something subconscious going on with conversations over food that bypasses some of the filters/walls we put up and isn't really replicated in normal work conversations. It's a bit like storytelling that way. I'm guessing it's because primitive humans only shared food with members of their tribe. At $15/day, 200 days per year, it costs around $3k/yr, which really isn't that much when you consider tech salaries and the benefits it brings. The only downside is I have to be hyper conscious about eating healthy since meals out are optimized for taste, not health (i.e. lots of butter and salt and other stuff that makes it taste really good but not particularly good for me to eat).