90% of employees surveyed report a more favorable view of their company when food is provided
ezCater, the leading food for work technology company in the US, today released its annual report, “Food for Work 2024: The Growing Role of Food in Today’s Workplace.” Featuring insights from more than 2,800 employees, employers, food orderers and decision-makers, the report highlights the impact of workplace meals and their ability to drive employee satisfaction, retention, and productivity.
According to the report, nearly 90% of employees surveyed have a more favorable view of their company when food is provided. As a result, businesses are increasingly embracing food as a fundamental part of the workplace. More than half (53%) of employers surveyed are planning to increase their food budgets in 2024, and daily or weekly meal programs are also on the rise, increasing 32% year-over-year.
“ezCater’s report findings reinforce the importance of food as an employee benefit,” said Kaushik Subramanian, Chief Revenue Officer, ezCater. “It’s a smart investment: employers offering food at their workplaces consistently see increased employee productivity and satisfaction.”
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Additional key takeaways from this year’s report show that employer-provided meals:
- Influence employee recruitment: 66% of corporate orderers use food perks for recruiting purposes, a 16% increase from the previous year. They call out subsidized daily or weekly meals (59%) and free coffee or snacks (45%) in job listings or careers pages to entice applicants.
- Impact employee retention: 78% of corporate orderers believe that food makes employees more likely to stay with a company, a 13% increase from the previous year.
- Drive time savings and productivity: 70% of employees say a top reason they enjoy receiving a free meal at work is because it saves them time. In fact, employees say they save over 30 minutes per workday when employers provide food.
- Boost on-site attendance: 88% of business leaders agree that food encourages employees to work on-site. Hybrid workers share this view— 67% say that free food entices them to work in person. Similarly, two-thirds of employees surveyed say free food helps offset their commuting costs.
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