Over the past few years, the default way of working has gone from in-person to work-from-home to something in between.
It’s enough to give any HR professional whiplash.
With almost 1 in 2 U.S. employees strongly in favour of remote work, pleasing everyone can seem impossible. That’s why the hybrid workplace experience offers the best of both worlds—the flexibility of remote work with the ability to foster employee collaboration through face-to-face meetings.
But how do you build a hybrid workplace that accommodates employees working from home while designing an in-person experience that excites them to come into the office too?
According to one study, 67% of employees who had access to free food at work reported being “very happy” at their jobs. Office catering offers your employees a sense of community while accommodating their individual needs.
However, in-office food perks can ostracize the other half of the hybrid workplace that works from home unless you can implement a solution that can work for both.
Traditional office catering often comes in the form of platters or open buffets, which robs employees of choice and excludes those working from home. Instead, takeout food perks can allow employees to make their own food choices–whether they’re working at home or ordering together as a group in the office.
Local food pick-up isn’t just more cost-effective but also more sustainable, as it doesn’t rely on predicting in-office volume, which can fluctuate from day to day, affected by variables such as weather and traffic congestion.
“Partnering with Ritual has made our Lunch program much easier and more flexible.” - Nella Dawn Casalino, Beazley Head of Facilities for the U.S. and Canada
While COVID-19 may have sparked the rapid change in employee expectations, they don’t seem to be going anywhere, with new boundaries being created between employees and their relationship to work.
As a result, employers must also adopt new values regarding employee engagement. This looks like prioritizing mental health through increased flexibility and offering a legitimate sense of connection within the workplace.
One of the advantages of the hybrid workplace is that it enables that on both fronts, with a place to go to feel socially connected to others and the autonomy to work from home on days when coming into the office would be mentally exhausting.
The ideal hybrid office experience should be designed with both your at-home and in-office employees in mind, giving them the flexibility and autonomy to choose for themselves without feeling like they’re missing out.
Ritual for Companies combines these elements of a strong hybrid office experience by providing a simple solution for implementing your company food program that allows employees to order together as a group in-office or at home by themselves using company-funded Ritual credits.
Once set up, employees can use the Ritual app to order their own customizable meals from participating local restaurants - from wherever they work.
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