An employee break room is an important part of your office. It’s easy to overlook how necessary it is to have a place to relax and unwind throughout the day. A good break room will help build comradery among workers. The break room should be primarily designed to allow employees relax during breaks and lunch hours. It should be inviting and allow workers to leave the workplace behind temporally. Your break room doesn’t have to involve a huge investment but there are some simple things you can do to make it inviting and relaxing so that employees have a place to relax.
To make the room inviting, the break room should be separate from the rest of the office instead of an extension of the main working area. Employees shouldn’t be able to see their desks, supervisors or be easily accessible to co-workers. There are a lot of things you can do to make the break room different from the rest of the office. If possible, you can put the room in a separate area from the office space. If your office is large, try to have several break rooms for different sections of the company. This will give workers a place to unwind without having to go far.
Decoration can make a big difference. A fun, stylish break room can make the space fun and attractive. Painting the room different colors from the rest of the building will help it stand out from working parts of the office. Consider colors and styles that don’t match the rest of the building. You can furnish the room with fun and functional furniture in a variety of styles. There is no reason you need to have to use standard corporate furniture in the break room. Explore more options. What about pub tables and stools in parts of the break room? Don’t try to design a plain break room.
Provide some conveniences for employees. Most companies provide free coffee for workers, so you should think about doing this. Provide both regular and decaffeinated coffee plus hot water for tea. Coffee helps workers stay alert during the day so there is a benefit to both you and the employee. Be sure to include coffee-making supplies such as extra coffee and filters. Also, you should offer sugar, artificial sweetener, creamer, stirrers, napkins and drink cups. Some companies provide additional drink options like tea bags and hot chocolate. Another great addition is a water cooler with filtered water. These extra perks make employees feel rewarded and valued.
Some companies are able to offer a few snack options for employees such as popcorn or a few other healthy foods. Others offered bottled water, sodas and other drinks. Even if you’re not able to do this, make sure workers have access to snacks and drinks through vending machines in the break room. You can ensure that the machines offer a variety of fresh and long-lasting foods depending on your employees’ preferences.
You can provide employees with other supplies to make their lives easier which will make them feel appreciated. Think about offering disposable plates, spoons, forks and knives. Although it might seem wasteful, reusable cups, plates and utensils can create problems when it comes to keeping materials clean. Unless you install a dishwasher and designate someone responsible for emptying and filling it, dirty dishes are likely to be a source of conflict.
There are a variety of other helpful tools you can put in a break room. These include a full-sized refrigerator, cabinets, counters and sinks. Employees need tables and chairs to sit down and eat lunch and have snacks. They’ll need microwaves to heat up food. It’s important to have more than one microwave so that multiple people can use them at the same time. People often have breaks at the same time and will get frustrated if there’s a line at the microwave. Tables should be available in a variety of sizes or should be simple to connect and disconnect for groups or individual users. Be sure to have extra chairs in case of visitors. It might be a good idea to have a coat closet in the break room in case visitors stop by from other offices or from other parts of company.
