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It's astounding to me how so few companies provide free food, or even free beverages. It's an insanely high ROI. The cost for catered lunch and breakfast and a

It's astounding to me how so few companies provide free food, or even free beverages. It's an insanely high ROI. The cost for catered lunch and breakfast and a stocked pantry is maybe $30 per day per person. The all-in cost for a typical high-skilled knowledge worker is at least $200k/year. If it gets employees spending 20 more minutes a day at their desk it's already paid for itself. That's basically the time it takes to leave the office for nearby takeout lunch or coffee shop. Let alone employees are more likely to come in earlier, because they can skip breakfast at home. And less likely to duck out earlier because they're hungry. And this is even before we get into the huge impact it has on employee morale and recruiting.

boplicity 4y ago
> If it gets employees spending 20 more minutes a day at their desk it's already paid for itself. Does more time at the desk, for a $200k employee, result in more revenue for a company? I'm not sure the answer is yes. Personally, as someone who is their own boss, if I don't leave my desk and go outside, my productivity suffers a lot. I make worse choices and waste more time.
- ghaff 4y ago
  When I worked in a city in an office that didn't have a cafeteria, lunch was often a great time to go out, take a walk, get a meal in Chinatown or wherever, etc. To be honest, I don't think I'd really have thanked my employer for some likely mediocre catered meal.
klenwell 4y ago
Even Montgomery Burns -- Montgomery Burns! -- recognized this 30 years ago: "Let the fools have their tartar sauce." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X25rP4rTw3A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X25rP4rTw3A
- kcplate 4y ago
  Sigh….Montgomery Burns and Darth Vader were always my influences back in my managing people days.
judge2020 4y ago
Unless you spin it as a Uber Eats allowance (which they have a dedicated solution for[0]), perhaps, then you'll likely end up with a large amount of employees either not eating the catering because they don't like it, or forcing themselves to eat it because it's better than having to go out and spend their own money on food. 0: https://www.uber.com/us/en/business/solutions/eats/overview/ https://www.uber.com/us/en/business/solutions/eats/overview/

boplicity 4y ago

> If it gets employees spending 20 more minutes a day at their desk it's already paid for itself. Does more time at the desk, for a $200k employee, result in more revenue for a company? I'm not sure the answer is yes. Personally, as someone who is their own boss, if I don't leave my desk and go outside, my productivity suffers a lot. I make worse choices and waste more time.

ghaff 4y ago
When I worked in a city in an office that didn't have a cafeteria, lunch was often a great time to go out, take a walk, get a meal in Chinatown or wherever, etc. To be honest, I don't think I'd really have thanked my employer for some likely mediocre catered meal.

klenwell 4y ago

Even Montgomery Burns -- Montgomery Burns! -- recognized this 30 years ago: "Let the fools have their tartar sauce." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X25rP4rTw3A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X25rP4rTw3A

kcplate 4y ago
Sigh….Montgomery Burns and Darth Vader were always my influences back in my managing people days.

judge2020 4y ago

Unless you spin it as a Uber Eats allowance (which they have a dedicated solution for[0]), perhaps, then you'll likely end up with a large amount of employees either not eating the catering because they don't like it, or forcing themselves to eat it because it's better than having to go out and spend their own money on food. 0: https://www.uber.com/us/en/business/solutions/eats/overview/ https://www.uber.com/us/en/business/solutions/eats/overview/