The perfect break room is not just somewhere for your staff to eat a quick sandwich, it should be a place that people can go to relax and recharge – getting away from the pressures of work so they can come back refreshed and ready to go. Many companies overlook the break room when in reality it should be a focus, as a way of boosting employee morale, engagement, teamwork and above all, productivity. Here is our guide to setting up a great break room.
Seating
Of course, the food and drink are only part of the break room experience. Your staff will also need somewhere to sit, either to relax or to enjoy their meals. The best break rooms will have a mix here – cafeteria-style tables and chairs/benches, alongside more comfortable sofa-style seating – however budgets and space do not always allow for this. At a minimum, you’ll want chairs and tables, so consider canteen-style seating – you should be able to easily find two-, four- or six-seater options that are either all-in-one (the chairs/benches and the table are all fixed together) or the more flexible separate pieces that can be moved about as necessary.
Your break room furniture should all be easy to maintain and clean, so look for wipe-clean surfaces, robust construction and solid materials – steel frames, laminate surfaces, vinyl or plastic seating are all practical options.
Provide the basics
At the very least, your break room should have fresh drinking water as well as the facilities to make tea and coffee. These are the absolute essentials, but also consider providing a fridge, a toaster and a microwave – none of these will break the bank, but each provides more options for your employees. Rather than just having the same sandwich day in, day out, they can mix it up with soups, noodles, microwave meals, salads – the options are endless.
Boost the basics
A little more investment and you can provide your employees with a coffee machine for better hot drinks, a water cooler for more refreshing, cleaner water than they would get from the tap, and more food-related appliances. We’re not talking about a full kitchen set-up here – no one expects you to provide an oven or a stand mixer, for example, but consider a panini press or a classic toasted sandwich maker for a bit of a unique twist on the basics.
Many sites also install vending machines, both for hot drinks/soups and for snacks and confectionery. This can be a great way of making the space more appealing – after all, we’ve all taken our lunch in to work with us only to fancy something savoury or sweet to go alongside it.
Entertainment
You might consider installing a television or radio for a bit of light entertainment in your break room, as long as they won’t cause disputes or issues with staff returning to work late. A great secondary benefit of a television is that if you plan to use your break room for larger company meetings, you can use the screen to present information clearly.
