Want More Productivity from Your Employees? Make Them Eat Lunch Together
When I worked in one office, I often went out to lunch with my colleagues. They were all women and about the same age, and three of us out of 7 were pregnant at the same time! But in other offices I either worked through lunch or took lunch alone. Now a new study is saying that workers who do break bread together are more productive. Actually, what researchers looked into was if companies who invest in upscale cafeterias or catered meals (think: Google), getting a good return on their investment? According to a new Cornell University study, the answer is yes. Cornell professors found that firefighter platoons who eat meals together have better group job performance compared with firefighter teams who dine solo. Now, I've interviewed firefighters and their meals are one of the high points of their day. They love sharing the cooking and joking around while someone's at the stove. “Eating together is a more intimate act than looking over an Excel spreadsh...