Break Room

1
BREAK OUT THEBREAK ROOM

• Keep Your Break Room Equipped for Enthusiastic
  Employees

2
SOME BACKGROUND ON BREAK ROOMS

• A break room is where employees keep their lunch,
  eating utensils, cleaning supplies, etc.
• A fully supplied break room is essential to the
  office after all, employees need to eat!
• A break room can be starkly functional,
  containing only the essential list of cleaning
  and break room supplies, or it can be a nice,
  brief getaway for employees from their desks.
• For more information about Break Rooms and
  Morale, check out Slides 8-17!

3
EVERY BREAKROOM STARTS AS A ROOM
Before a break room becomes a break room, it must
first contain

• Cabinet space
• Countertop space
• Appliances
• Refrigerator Freezer
• Microwave
• Coffee maker
• Keurig or Drip Coffee Maker
• Toaster (Not necessary, but a nice perk!)

4
NOSHING SUPPLIES

• You never know when your office is going to throw
  a party, or when you might forget a fork!
• Keep break room supplies fully stocked
• Paper plates and bowls
• Plastic forks, knives, and spoons
• Napkins
• Serving trays (for goodies!)

5
CLEANING SUPPLIES
To clean up after your office partyor to clean
up after an accidental coffee spill! Keep
cleaning supplies in

• Sponges
• Rubber gloves
• Disinfectants
• Trash liners for general garbage and recycling
  purposes
• Dish and hand soap

6
COFFEE/TEA SUPPLIES

• Tea
• English Breakfast, Caffeinated and Decaffeinated
• Green or Lemon Tea
• Coffee suplies
• Keurig K-Cups
• Ground coffee for drip coffee makers
• Milk
• Whole, Skim, or 2
• Soy and/or Lactose Intolerant Milk
• Sugar, Artificial Sweetners, and honey
• Stirrer (not necessary, but a perk!)

7
A break room can be more than just a break
roomBREAK ROOMS CAN BOOST OFFICE MORALE
8
BREAK ROOMS OFFICE MORALE

• A good break room gets people out of their
  chairs, which is extremely important for
  employees health
• Studies show that remaining seated throughout the
  day is detrimental to employee health, morale,
  and overall perception of their career
• A break room can be one of the contributing
  reasons that compel employees to stay at their
  job. It is important that employees want to stay
  at their job-- literally.
• Employees who are itching to end their work day
  will most likely quit, thereby decreasing a
  companys employee retention rate
• Studies show that accommodating a social break
  rooms can increase employee productivity by 25
• Breaks enable people to vent and chat with their
  coworkers
• Develop a personal relationship with their work
  space
• Recharge their mental energy to pursue new tasks
  more vigorously

9
TIPS FOR CREATING AN EngagingEmployeeBREAK ROOM
10
ADD GAMES

• Adding games to employee break rooms increases
  productivity.
• Employees that spend too much time gaming
  ALREADY struggle with time management both away
  and at their desk.
• Ping pong
• Foosball
• Air hokey
• Dry Erase Boards (For playing hang man,
  pictionaryor brainstorming ideas for the break
  room!)

11
ADD A TELEVISION

• We know that adding a TV sounds like the worst
  idea possible, but its actually not so bad!
  Television grants employees a window to the
  outside world and takes their mind off the
  monotony of working in the office.
• Remember, control of the television should be
  handled on a first come first serve basis!

12
PROVIDE COMFORTABLE SEATING

• Again, the break room is about taking a break
  from the office.
• Allowing employees to relax in comfortable office
  furniture gives them the ability to regain their
  strength to work harder when they reenter the
  office
• Without comfy chairs, employees will most likely
  exit the office premises for their lunch break,
  but with comfy seating, employees will feel
  encouraged to stick around during their lunch
  break to socialize with the coworkers.

13
ADD DÉCOR

• Adding décor to the break room distinguishes it
  from the rest of the office
• Employees view it as a real break room a
  break from the office space
• Adding décor can help boost employees moods,
  relaxing them from the stress of the office
• Bring in some potted plants
• Hang pictures
• Paint the walls with a pop of color
• Tip For seasonal holidays, use scissors and
  office paper to cut out snowflakes, flowers,
  hearts, suns, etc. to hang on the walls
• PS The background image is from Free Peoples
  home office!

14
ORGANIZE A BREAK ROOM POTLUCK

• Potlucks can bring employees together because, as
  we all already know, food brings people together.
  Hosting seasonal potlucks will help inspire a
  close-knit office culture and keep people loving
  their work!

15
PROVIDE HEALTHY SNACKS AND FREE LUNCH ITEMS

• Healthy Snacks
• Keeping employees healthy is important! (This
  means less sick days)
• Free Lunch
• At least once a week!
• Free lunch can achieve a mild office culture
  (Potlucks are more successful!)
• Free lunch does not necessarily entitle workers
  to stay in the break room, but it certainly does
  give employees something to look forward to

16
MOST IMPORTANTLYFREE COFFEE

• Although coffee was listed as a basic essential
  to every break room in slide 6, we cannot
  emphasize enough how important it is that
  employees not feel burdened to bring in their own
  coffee
• Many employees rely on caffeine to get through
  their day providing free and readily available
  coffee is a must, must, must, must, must!!

17
REMEMBERTHE BREAK ROOM IS not THE OFFICE

• Havent we emphasized that enough? The break room
  is not a room filled with office supplies and
  file cabinets. Its there to help fortify office
  culture. Dont bring work into the break room!

AND ask EMPLOYEES ABOUT WHAT CHANGES OR ADDITIONS
THEY WANT TO SEE IN THEIR BREAK ROOM
Take out notebooks and list the things that your
employees care about. Guaranteed, your employee
retention rate will soar!
18
EXAMPLES OF SUCCESSFUL OFFICES WITH THE BEST
BREAK ROOMS(to name just a few!)
Google Yelp (the background image of this
slide! Free People Discovery Communications Hea
rst Principle Financial Group (PFG) American
Society of Association Executives Wieden
Kennedy Microsoft PopCap Games
19
SOURCES

• http//www.foodservicewarehouse.com/education/top-
  10-ways-to-boost-morale-in-the-break-room/c27761.a
  spx
• http//www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/jobs/group-break
  s-can-raise-workplace-productivity.html?_r0
• http//images.businessweek.com/ss/07/10/1014_offic
  e_collaborative/index_01.htm
• http//mashable.com/2012/02/14/yelp-nyc-office/
• http//smallbusiness.chron.com/improve-employee-br
  eak-room-21314.html
• http//www.brighthub.com/office/human-resources/ar
  ticles/86763.aspx
• http//www.lorensworld.com/business/5-ways-to-boos
  t-morale-in-the-office/