Your break room is the most important area of your office.  According to a Staples survey—

• 86 percent of employees believe breaks make them more productive
• 59 percent indicated that regular breaks increase work satisfaction
• 43 percent said breaks improve personal happiness

Here are some inexpensive break room ideas you can use to improve employee morale and boost productivity.

Provide break room snacks.

Free coffee and healthy snacks can go a long way in keeping your associates happy.

Free coffee is staple in most break rooms for reason. According to Inc., caffeine increases attention spans, improves focus, and boosts mental energy so your workers can work more. In addition, coffee is relatively inexpensive, so it’s a small investment.

If you want to take your break room to the next level, provide some healthy snack options. Healthy snacks will allow you to curb your associates’ appetites without them getting a sugar crash from typical vending machine options. Include options like nuts, yogurt, granola bars and fruit.

Have the right break room furniture.

Investing in break room furniture may seem like a trivial improvement, but the benefits for your associates are significant.

A break room can’t exist without lunch tables and chairs. Break room tables serve multiple purpose:

1. They give your associates a place to eat lunch and take a break and
2. They give your associates a natural place to gather and engage with each other.

In addition to tables and chairs, think about adding couches and other comfortable seating. This will accommodate associates looking for a place to relax during the work day.

Keep break room supplies stocked.

To maintain a healthy office you’ll want to keep a few essential supplies in your break room.

1. Use automated soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers. This will help curb the spread of germs.
2. Keep cleaning supplies stocked. In order for associates to properly clean up spills and messes in your break room make sure you have general cleaning supplies on hand.
3. Lastly, stock up on paper products and plastic utensils. Having paper plates and plastic utensils takes away the need for doing dishes and helps you avoid having dirty dishes laying around the break room.

Want more break room ideas?

Want to know what you should include in your break room? Ask your associates. The best way to keep your associates’ morale up is to include them in decision making process so they buy-in to what you’re doing.