Although most employees appreciate catering to some degree, office food typically doesn’t have the best reputation. The average American when asked about what they think of when they hear “office catering” might mention lukewarm, soggy food sitting in aluminum trays.
There might be some overcooked vegetables, meatballs, or some generally unappetizing school cafeteria-style food.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this type of catering, and most employees will still eat the food offered to them. You might be surprised at how taking the extra effort to curate your catering a little more can benefit your office morale, however. We’re going to go over some notable problems with your average office lunch and teach you how to become an office lunch pro.
The Problem With Current Office Lunches
Office lunch, as we mentioned, is notoriously boring. All the bad press aside, office lunch can also be very limiting for people with any dietary restrictions whatsoever. The combination of boring, unfulfilling, and sometimes limited catering a company uses can send a message to employees that their heart is in the right place, but the employees themselves weren’t considered.
Undesirable catering can cause wasted money and food, which ends up not benefitting anyone at all. Outdated ideas of what catering can be like not considering food sensitivities or having basic, uninteresting food options can turn people off from eating the food you provide. With nearly 40% of the workforce admitting to not taking their breaks often, it can be difficult to convince staff to take those much-needed breaks with poor lunch offerings.
However, according to the same reference, 91% of employees and 93% of bosses agree that those breaks are a vital part of maintaining mental focus during the workday. People want to take breaks but frequently don’t feel incentivized to do so, especially with poorly thought-out lunch options.
The Importance of Offering Better Office Lunches
Office lunch isn’t just about eating free food, humans eat socially and there’s an underlying social value placed on meals.
We eat together with our families growing up, we meet friends for lunch, have dinner dates, celebrate anniversaries, and so much more.
Choosing exciting office lunches can leave your employees feeling refreshed, appreciated, and even bonded with their co-workers. If the catering you choose isn’t great, you could be driving your team to eat alone, causing them to become less productive at work. Camaraderie can’t blossom at your desk, and giving your staff an easy way to connect with their peers can be done through a meal.
This is why we mentioned the detrimental effects of choosing boring, less-than-great catering options for your workplace. You have the power to promote positive change for your employee’s mental and physical well-being through carefully chosen food. In a USA Today study, on average, job satisfaction ratings jumped from 56% to 67% when free food was offered at an employee’s place of work. Healthy options were mentioned specifically as the most sought-after. It also mentions that “Employees say the presence of snacks and availability of free meals fosters a more collaborative atmosphere and sense of fun.”
Exciting Office Lunch Ideas
We’re not talking about bringing a hibachi bar in every Friday (although if you have the space for it, that could be a really fun idea). We just mean meals that will allow all of your employees to genuinely look forward to eating at lunch. No more soggy green beans, boiled hot dogs, or unpleasant pasta salad. The catering industry has completely transformed with thousands of amazing ideas for catering, so let’s go over some of them.
Brunch bar
A brunch bar with fresh French toast, chia pudding, or classic eggs and sausage can be great for Monday afternoons to get your team started for the week.
Ramen
Ramen is very popular, tasty, and versatile for a variety of dietary needs. This is a highly customizable dish especially perfect for colder days.
Taco Tuesdays / Burrito Bar
Burrito/taco bars can be highly customizable with a ton of really delicious ingredients your employees will love. They can fix their lunch perfectly to their liking.
Mediterranean Food
Mediterranean food is versatile as well, and often pretty healthy. You can even rotate between various regional cuisines to keep things interesting.
Local Ice Cream bar
Incorporate an ice cream/frozen treat bar with your favorite local ice cream place on those tough Fridays to round out the end of the week.
Appetizer Extravaganza
Sometimes just eating a bunch of small delicious foods is enough, try having an appetizer extravaganza! You can incorporate this with a charcuterie board as well to make it extra filling.
Michelin-Style Catering Menu
Show your staff you appreciate them with a Michelin-style catering menu they’ll never forget. Michelin star food is known for being curated, high quality, and absolutely delicious.
Seasonal Menus
Seasonal menus work around upcoming holidays and what makes sense for the weather. Poke bowls in the summer and Thanksgiving sandwiches in the fall make things feel more relevant and fun during office lunch.
Don’t all of these sound much better than the bland, boring food you usually see with company catering? Taking the extra step to pick delicious and exciting food options does a lot to boost your company’s rapport and employee morale, so it’s always worth it to invest in feeding your team.
Kicking Off Your Fun New Lunch Ideas
If these catering ideas made you hungry and ready for a change, Zerocater can help you make the switch. Zerocater has hundreds of delicious local food options for your next catering venture, all in one place. You don’t even have to worry about your employees’ dietary restrictions or preferences.
The more you order, the more we learn about what your team likes. To get started with your first order, reach out to us with the “Get Started” button on the top right of our homepage. We’ll gather some basic information about your catering needs and get back to you with some personalized information on how to best serve your company. We can’t wait to hear from you!
