Way to an office worker’s heart is through their stomach

Biscuits are being replaced by healthy food in offices across Australia, new data shows. See what’s on the menu.

The days of cheap tea, tinned coffee and a packet of biscuits at work are fading, with bosses now using food as a perk to keep workers happy and lure them back to the office.

A national survey of 2000 employees by Woolworths’ online platform for business, Woolworths at Work, found positive links between workers who currently receive food from the boss and their attitude to culture metrics including:

• Nine in 10 (92 per cent) say they are happier to work in the office because of the food perks received.

• 90 per cent say they feel genuinely looked after by their company when food and snacks are provided.

• More than four in five (83 per cent) agree food perks make an organisation more attractive to join or work for.

• 87 per cent believe provided food improves employee morale.

The type of food provided in offices for breakfast and morning tea.

Woolworths at Work data shows while chocolate biscuits and assorted cream biscuits were in the top 10 most purchased foods for offices in 2022; this year they have been replaced with fresh fruit, including mandarins and apples, and rice crackers are growing in popularity.

Woolworths at Work managing director Jarad Nass believes a well-stocked healthy office kitchen is important as part of the employee value proposition.

“Forward thinking businesses are ramping up their workplace food offering in a bid to attract talent back to the workplace, while also considering healthier food options to boost both productivity and wellbeing,” Nass says.

Chloe Skipp, national culinary manager of Winning Appliances, says she views the office kitchen as the heart of their operations where staff can “eat, refuel and rejuvenate”.

Winning Appliances national culinary manager Chloe Skipp in the kitchen.

The culinary team in Waterloo offers cereal, muesli bars, fresh fruit, a range of milk products, rice crackers and a commercial coffee machine, and at lunchtime they hold barbecues, offer smoked and slow-cooked meats, salads and roasted vegetables.

Skipp says it allows staff to meet in one spot and acts as a drawcard, and they.have provided positive feedback and suggestions.

Dietitian Simone Austin, chief health officer at HealthyLife, says workplaces are recognising the link between food options and increased productivity and employee health.

“People respond when they see their employer is thinking about them and offering options which are personal. Just piling in some instant coffee and biscuits doesn’t show much effort,” Austin says.

She says offices risk being left behind if they ignore the trend.

Originally published as Way to an office worker’s heart is through their stomach