Growing appetite for change

Before Covid, office food was office food. Some companies took the time and trouble to do it well; for others it was a box-ticking exercise. As long as people were fed and there were no major objections to the food being served, catering contracts were often rolled over with little appetite for change.

The pandemic has turned this on its head. Food has become a new leverage point for employees and an engagement tool for employers who are using the lure of good grub to entice people back to the office. Encouraging people to share meals is also seen as a positive way of rebuilding team spirit and inter-personal relationships post-pandemic.

"Food has moved right up the agenda since people began returning," says Sarah Kennedy, founder of Kennedy's cafes and catering. "We're seeing a greater focus on quality and variety and on serving food that is more in tune with employees' wellness goals. A lot of people became more health conscious while working from home and how they eat is now more of a priority."

Kennedy says a second emerging trend is catering with a purpose. “Before Covid, our regular beat was lunches, fruit displays, sandwich platters and food for meetings. Almost none of that eating at meetings has returned.

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“Now, the food is very much tied to specific back-to-the-office events. For example, if there’s a team meeting, it may be preceded by a breakfast buffet or coffee and pastries. Companies are also focusing more on events, so they went really big on pancake Tuesday this year to create a bit of a buzz.”

The pandemic 'pause' has created an opportunity for organisations to do a food review

Providing employees with good quality food is more than a nice-to-have benefit. It’s also good for the bottom line. A healthier workforce means less absenteeism due to illness and good food choices go hand in hand with better productivity.

"Food has a direct impact on our cognitive performance, which is why a poor decision at lunch can derail an entire afternoon," writes psychologist Ron Friedman in the Harvard Business Review. "Not all foods are processed by our bodies at the same rate. Some foods, like pasta, bread, cereal and soda, release their glucose quickly, leading to a burst of energy followed by a slump.

“Others, like high fat meals [think cheeseburgers and BLTs] provide more sustained energy, but require our digestive system to work harder, reducing oxygen levels in the brain and making us groggy. Most of us know much of this intuitively, yet we don’t always make smart decisions about our diet. In part, it’s because we’re at our lowest point in both energy and self-control when deciding what to eat.”

In short, an employer serving up food that causes a post-prandial slump among its workforce is doing itself no favours. So, what exactly should be on the corporate menu? “There are so many possibilities that fall within the definition of tasty and healthy but definitely freshly prepared dishes that lean towards local ingredients and allowing people to make good food choices,” Kennedy says.

“Because many people have been eating better at home, they are feeling good in themselves. They are also more productive because they’re not bolting down food at lunchtime that doesn’t agree with their gut. They want to continue to feel good when they go back to the office which is why the corporate food offering really needs to change.

“The pandemic ‘pause’ has created an opportunity for organisations to do a food review,” Kennedy adds. “There’s a big difference between mass catering and what small, local, artisan food producers can offer employers. We fall into this second category and find our food really strikes a chord with the tech companies in particular because they have a lot of young employees who have adventurous tastes and take an interest in food provenance and sustainability.

“And, before someone brings up an objection around cost, we know from talking to our customers that what they spend on food is more than recouped in improved productivity.”

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is related to greater happiness, life satisfaction and positive effect

For those looking for science to back up the argument for better food options at work, the study, On Carrots and Curiosity, published by the British Psychological Society, shows that few unhealthy foods (such as chips and sweets) are related to positive feelings of wellbeing.

By contrast, the study, which was led by associate professor Tamlin Conner, an expert in emotional and physical wellbeing at New Zealand’s University of Otago, clearly showed that healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables and a diet comprising up to seven portions a day, leads to higher than average eudaemonic (conducive to happiness) wellbeing, more intense feelings of curiosity and greater creativity.

“There is growing evidence,” the study says, “that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is related to greater happiness, life satisfaction and positive effect.”

Friedman suggests that this is because “fruits and vegetables contain vital nutrients that foster the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the experience of curiosity, motivation and engagement. They also provide antioxidants that minimise bodily inflammation, improve memory and enhance mood. Which underscores an important point: if you’re serious about achieving top workplace performance, making intelligent decisions about food is essential.

“The good news is that, contrary to what many of us assume, the trick to eating right is not learning to resist temptation. It’s making healthy eating the easiest possible option.”