Employees nowadays choose companies based on their work culture. As culture keeps one grounded and helps in holding onto the roots, it becomes one of the most important aspects that shapes the company. One of the ways to build or strengthen company culture is through employee engagement at mealtimes.
Read on to find out the importance of having lunch together at work and how it strengthens the culture among employees-
· Treat mealtimes as ice breaker sessions
One of the best ways to familiarize yourself with your fellow employees is to share a meal with them. This experience helps in engaging with your co-workers and knowing them over something as simple as a slice of pizza. This also helps in blurring the invisible barrier that you unconsciously create around yourself and makes you more relaxed and comfortable as lunch presents itself as an informal platform, where the presence of hierarchy is absent, giving you the freedom to treat even your boss as a friend while sharing your lunch.
· Participate in productive brainstorming sessions
“Two heads are better than one”
Although working alone has its perks, it’s even more productive if we work on brainstorming sessions over a meal. It offers a casual space where everyone plays an essential role in ideating concepts which would help us think from different perspectives and weigh the pros and cons of each idea.
· Facilitates easy collaboration
It’s much easier to work with an individual once you have met them in person and know them to a certain extent. Having lunch as a team helps in easing your communication with them and clears that awkward air of tension that you first come across. This practice chiefly applies to new hires as they try to fit into this new environment. It also aids them in reading between the lines and unconsciously learning the work culture without employees specifically pointing it out to them.
· Provides a medium for networking
What better way to know your employees than bonding with them over lunch or a cup of coffee. This serves as a perfect medium for networking, thereby building great social relationships among the team. Networking serves as an important opportunity to build your professional career by forming key connections with other employees, learning new skills, and seeking valuable advice.
· Boosts productivity among the team
Creative ideas rarely come to your mind when you spend hours and hours on your own in front of the screen. Sometimes, this monotonous formal environment might lead to procrastination and a mental block. Hence, an environment that gives you a sense of comfort like working in lounges, and cafeterias could help boost productivity. This also helps employees loosen up a little and casually list their ideas without any pressure. This practice can also help improve company culture.
SmartQ helps businesses build cafeteria experiences that allow employees to bond and develop a sense of camaraderie. There are several opportunities that could be leveraged to strengthen this camaraderie. For instance, we organize dance and cultural events around festivals such as Garba & DJ nights during Diwali festivities, dance & song performances and more with mouth-watering ethnic delicacies. This creates an excellent opportunity for employees to engage with each other and learn each other’s culture while delivering an amazing cafeteria experience.
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