Tensions are high within the current workforce landscape. Companies are fighting to recruit and maintain their top talent while workers prioritize putting their needs first. Employee wellness is a popular topic of conversation, and employee benefits and perks have become many companies’ first lines of defense in the current “war for talent.”

Take a look at your artillery. Are you offering your employees valuable amenities? What would make your employees more satisfied and, in turn, more loyal to your organization? With the competitive edge of a food and beverage program or on-site cafeteria, your workplace might have the secret weapon to get ahead.

A food and beverage program that meets your employees’ needs isn’t just a perk, it’s an investment in the success of your workforce. By meeting the needs of your team members, you’re more likely to attract new talent and retain your best workers. Here’s why!

Changes in the Workforce

The pandemic has caused a great shift toward flexible and hybrid work, but there’s still trouble in paradise. Worker dissatisfaction is at an all-time high. Since the height of the pandemic, work satisfaction metrics have dropped alarmingly quickly.

This threat can affect companies with any employee demographics. According to a 2023 Mintel survey, 60% of workers across all age groups say they are scrutinizing employee benefits more closely than they used to. This number only rises when it comes to the younger generations of working age.

While 2020 marked the Great Resignation, one leading HR organization describes that 2023 has brought about the Great Gloom. Employee happiness has steadily decreased with a severe drop in 2023. Employee dissatisfaction can lead to higher turnover rates and a lack of talent retention.

There’s no more ignoring that Millennials and Gen Z are getting older and are becoming key players in the workforce. By 2025, Gen Z is expected to make up 27% of the global workforce. Gen Z and Millennials will make up most of the workforce a year from now, and they want very similar things from the people they work for.

Higher costs of living have led to tighter budgets and increased demand for workplaces to offer benefits beyond insurance and a 401(k.) According to a Global Eating Work Survey, proper lunch breaks and on-site cafeterias are in high demand among these age groups. When it comes down to the wire, these programs may be what gives your company a leg up in the job market.

Return to Office

The pandemic has transformed the way many people work. More workers have shifted to a hybrid or fully remote work model and don’t seem eager to come back into the office. Who could blame them? There’s little that can compete with working in the comfort of your own home in your favorite pair of pajama pants. Free or subsidized meals seem to give your organization the best fighting chance.

In a study of over 1,000 business and industry workers, 77% of participants confirmed that free food or drink vending was at the top of the list of what would tempt them to come back to the workplace.

If you’re a business leader concerned with absenteeism, providing food and drink to your employees will likely push those fears aside. After all, since the dawn of time, food has been bringing people together. Food is the ultimate incentive for the majority of the workforce, whether it’s providing full meals or quick bites alongside coffee and tea.

Boosting Productivity

Taking the time to make the most out of your lunch break can be difficult. Many of us are guilty of swiping bites at our desks or skipping our midday meals altogether. While it might seem like the right thing to do during a hectic workday, its negative impact can outweigh the benefits.

Skipping lunch and other breaks may cause burnout which ultimately contributes to lower job performance. Your body and mind need the time to refresh throughout the workday. Taking the time to press pause in the middle of a hard day’s work ultimately improves your focus, productivity, and creativity.

What’s a great way to encourage employees to take breaks? A coffee or snack bar in your work building should do the trick. Whether you have the space for a whole cafeteria or just enough for a micro market, offering food and beverages at your workers’ fingertips will encourage them to regularly part with their work and replenish.

Engaging Your Workforce

Having a communal space where workers can come together and collaborate creates a sense of unity among your employees. Keeping your team members engaged with one another is one great way to combat the loneliness that may affect remote and hybrid workers.

When your workplace encourages comradery, great things happen. Whether unlikely partnerships create new opportunities for projects or employee connection creates a sense of belonging, employees want to communicate with each other. Sometimes all it takes to start those conversations is a lunch meeting or shared ideas over great cups of coffee.

Make your work building a place where employees want to be. Sometimes, standing around the water cooler just won’t cut it. Foster an environment that encourages employees to take breaks together or apart.

Fostering Employee Loyalty

There’s a great payoff when your company puts its workers first. By providing great meal and snack options, your employees are happier and healthier each day. A robust food and beverage program will make it easier for your workers to maintain a work-life balance. Just think about how much time they’ll save when they don’t have to pack food every day.

Offering food and drinks that delight those in your workplace isn’t just a great perk, it also shows that you care. By going above and beyond for your employees, you boost their overall happiness and increase their willingness to dedicate themselves to their work and your organization.

Choose Canteen

You may not have the ability to match the salaries of other job offers, but that’s not the only way you can stand out to candidates.

A workplace food program speaks volumes about how you show up for your employees. Putting employee wellness and perks first has a valuable payoff and may help you win over your ideal workers. It may even be considered more valuable than a pay raise.

Offering the benefits employees want is key to attracting and maintaining the best people for the jobs in your organization. Whether you want to offer wow-ing meals in a work cafeteria or start small with a great selection of snacks, Canteen is here to deliver food, service, and experience that wins workers over.

As the largest unattended retail provider in the U.S., we leverage design expertise, consumer insights, and the latest in product and equipment innovation to help you create a better workplace and connect your employees. Get started with Canteen today and see how a food and beverage program can transform your workplace.