People gather over meals. We all need to eat, but more than that, we love to eat together. It's a central ritual in our lives.
That’s why team lunches are a great way of increasing workplace engagement and supporting team unity. There are many team lunch ideas that can be used to leverage the necessity of eating to check off organizational strategies.
Step one is arranging the meals. Ordering team lunches can be organized so easily with the right partners. Employees can make their orders individually through the mobile app or website, and the full order will be collated for pick up or delivery, so there is no need to worry over multiple dietary and food preferences. Just sit back and watch!
To get the office excited to eat together, order ahead or pick up food from your favorite local spot. From there, all there is left is to pick a fun team lunch idea.
Socially, we get together for dinner, lunch and brunch as one of our main ways of connecting, and for good reason. At work, the benefits are compounded.
In fact, business leaders report that offering team lunches increases productivity, morale, and employee retention, incentivizes workers, and improves wellness and engagement.
Team lunches for staff appreciation hosted in the conference room are great, but for even better results, why not add in some novelty or activities?
With at least one holiday to celebrate each month, themed lunches do not need to be overly complicated. However, with a mind to diversity, equity and inclusion, creative themes can be a more inclusive approach. Themes could include just about anything like: TGIF, meatless Monday, Taco Tuesdays, breakfast for lunch, pizza party, and so on. The options are endless!
Especially for teams that are not well acquainted, games can be a great icebreaker. Some game ideas can include: office bingo, childhood photo guessing game, charades, werewolf, telephone, or even an office scavenger hunt (which could be a part of the walk to pick up the food!)
According to Forbes, the best time to enhance productivity isn’t after hours, it’s during the lunch break. For a truly unique team lunch idea, why not bring in a thought-provoking speaker? Upskilling, workplace culture, engagement and retention are all high-priority strategies for leaders, and a lunch-and-learn seminar checks all the boxes.
Whether your employees bring something from home or pick a team lunch meal as part of a group order, potlucks let people share their interests and get to know one another better.
Studies are clear that taking a break and getting outdoors during lunch can increase workplace productivity. Especially on a sunny day, planning a picnic can be a winning idea. For a team lunch idea for staff appreciation, consider organizing a group wellness walk to pick up your group order, or find a park and spread out some blankets for a picnic.
Whether to get outside, learn something new, or have some fun together, lunch can be a perfect leveraging point. Teams that can eat, learn, and have fun together will also work better together. As they say, families that eat together stay together!
Ritual for Companies can help you boost employee engagement with recurring employee meals. Start building your office food program today.
