The Theory Behind Office Lunches

One of the staples of most any office environment is the office lunch. It's that time when the bosses want to: congratulate their workforce for a job well done; celebrate the departure of a co-worker for greener pastures; make an attempt to 'get-to-know' their staff outside of the work setting; or simply to take some time away from work. Whatever the reason various managers have given in the past, I have uncovered the truth behind it in exacting detail given years of research and contemplation on the subject. This is something that is taught to upper management in offices across the country and doesn't always apply to all offices but it could apply to some. As anything on this page, take it with a good sense of humor, it's not the truth, or is it?

Office lunches occur on occasion and when the do occur, depending on the size of the team or office, it can be a big affair or it can be somewhat simple. I have worked in an office where the total office was made up of no more than fifteen people so it was easy to cater lunches for that many people. We had fajita parties and we had Chinese food parties. But most commonly we had pizza parties. The pizza party is an unwritten staple of the office world. When in doubt, feed people pizza. It's funny that how from the time we are kids to the time we're working adults, those in charge will provide us with pizza as a means of satisfying the masses. Don't get me wrong, I am a big pizza fan but I find it humorous that when you go to a birthday party as a five year old, you're already being trained to enjoy pizza for the time you're in a working environment.

You usually choose a food like pizza because it appeals to most people. Got veggie people in the office? No problem, order a veggie pizza. Got people who crave meat? No problem, throw some pepperoni and sausage on that bad boy and have yourself a meal! There was a kink thrown into the works when people suddenly started going nuts about the South Beach Diet or the Zone Diet and what not and began eating only proteins and no carbs and what have you. But like all fads, it was a passing phase and now most people are back on pizza. At least for the most part. So is that the reason office managers choose pizza or other such foods for their luncheons or whatever? For the sake of simplicity? I think not.

In my research I uncovered a study that supposedly took place in Japan where an office was tasked with discovering why productivity was down in their office. After studying the office, researchers realized that part of it was that people were losing time at lunch by going to the microwave and warming up their lunch. Most offices have only one or two microwaves per kitchen area and when you multiply that by a conservative estimated average office area of 15 you see why it can lead to lost productivity. So the recommendation came down to increase productivity by taking action. The most obvious was to purchase new microwaves but that was not conducive to team unity so they chose option two.

Option two was to host office parties but to ensure that rather than providing the office workers a choice, you provide them with food that is both tasty and bad for you. Hence the increase in pizza and other such foods at lunch. The cost per person is relatively cheap and you get a workforce that will fill up (since it's free to the employee) and then gain weight. By gaining weight, they are less apt to want to get up and wander around and so by being lazy, they will stay chained to their desks and continue working. For those who choose not to come to such office lunches, that's okay. More than likely they are workaholics anyways and they enjoy being chained to their desk so no problem there either.

A followup study found that obesity and lethargy had increased in this particular workforce but productivity had gone through the roof. Followups are needed to determine the effects this may have on medical insurance rates but if it is found to be negligible in the long run due to higher productivity rates, you can expect to see more pizza and cake and other such bad goodies coming to your office too. So the next time you attend a luncheon for your office, you'll know why you have little or no choice in the menu. It's all for the greater good of the company!