03/ 19/ 2008
A well-stocked and comfortable break room benefits both you and your employees. Employees will see that you take their comfort into consideration and you'll gain a more productive staff if they aren't constantly running out for coffee. Even if your employees aren't big on taking time outs, you should encourage them to get up from their desk every so often. A 10-minute coffee break can do wonders to increase concentration and productivity.
Whether you need to upgrade your break room or designate a space to create one, consider providing the following amenities for your dedicated employees.
Appliances
Your break room should have a fairly large refrigerator so employees can bring their lunches and not have to worry about their yogurt spoiling by the time they're ready to eat it. A coffee maker is another necessity. This doesn't have to be expensive—you can find programmable 12-cup coffee makers for around $25. For your tea drinkers, you might want to consider upgrading to an industrial coffee maker that also has a spout for hot water. If not, they can warm their water in a microwave, which, incidentally, your break room should also contain. Being able to heat their food will give employees another incentive to stay in for lunch.
Food and drink
You'll obviously need something to put in that coffee maker, so keep plenty of coffee and tea on hand, and have the water cooler filled for employees who don't caffeinate. Some employers also keep a few snack items stocked for their staff. Like a coffee maker, this can be a minimal monthly expense. If you have a microwave, buy popcorn in bulk. You can also buy large containers of pretzels and trail mix, which will give employees a healthy alternative to a trip to the vending machines.
Paper products
Providing your employees with plastic cups, plates, forks and spoons is pretty standard, but you might want to consider keeping your break room eco-friendly by installing shelving so employees can keep a couple of reusable mugs and bowls at work.
Entertainment
For the employees who opt to bring their lunch to work, it's a nice idea to have a television in the break room. If purchasing a state-of-the-art LCD or plasma isn't in your budget right now, ask your employees if anyone has a spare set they'd like to donate, or visit a used appliance store.
Also provide some reading material. Subscribe to the local paper and a few magazines. While industry trades will help your employees take an informative break, keeping a few entertaining titles on hand will help employees relax for a few minutes and return to work refreshed.
Keep it clean
A break room stocked with appliances and interesting magazines will fail to be inviting if the space isn't sanitary. Hang signs asking employees to clean up after themselves. Always keep dish sponges and dish soap on hand so they can wash their dishes.
Assign someone to be in charge of washing the coffee pot at the end of the day and cleaning it once a week. Otherwise the coffee in the break room will taste like black sludge and your employees will keep making their multiple Starbucks runs.
Finally, what if you make the break room so inviting that you find your employees are spending more time there than anywhere else in the office? You probably need to add one more item to the space: a large and prominently displayed clock.
