With the workplace dynamic shifting to a work-life balance, more companies are looking for ways to enhance their atmosphere and provide employees with more benefits. From game rooms to company shuttle services, the perks offered by companies for their employees can vary widely. If you're looking for ways to improve your employee morale and retain staff, installing a game room may not fit your corporate culture. One thing that most any company can invest in, though, is catered employee lunches. Providing lunch to your employees can have a lot of benefits for both you and your employees. Here's a look at some of the benefits of catered lunches through a food service management company.

Improved Employee Morale

Providing lunch for your employees may help to improve the overall employee morale. It makes your employees feel valued and it saves them money, both of which may make them happier. Not only can perks like this be a great selling point for potential recruits, but it may even help you to improve your employee retention. Particularly if you are in an industry where competition for the top employees is stiff, perks like this may make the difference in a potential recruit's decision.

Enhanced Productivity

Offering free lunch to your employees can benefit your company in the way of increased productivity. In fact, you're likely to see productivity benefits for two reasons. First, research shows that happier employees and those who feel valued are inherently more productive. Additionally, if you're providing lunch for your employees, you are eliminating the time that they would spend leaving your campus and waiting in line for food. Instead, your employees can get lunch quickly and easily without ever leaving the property. This eliminates wasted time, enhancing productivity and making the most of the workday.

Stronger Sense of Teamwork

When you offer lunch for your employees, you give everyone in the company a reason to come into the cafeteria every day. This can help to improve inter-department relationships and build a stronger sense of teamwork, because employees from all departments and all levels of the company are more likely to gather together over meals, even if it is by chance. Whether it's just a chance meeting of two people who happen to sit down beside each other at a table or discussions sparked in the cafeteria lines, you're providing opportunities to build connections and interpersonal relationships.

Healthier Employees

When your workforce is healthy, you face fewer sick days in general. This saves your company money in lost productivity and the need for temporary workers. You may be able to help keep your employees healthier by offering them catered lunches. You can work with your food service management company to provide healthier choices and ensure that all meals are balanced for the maximum nutritional benefit. This may provide your staff with healthier foods than they would normally choose on their own.

Reduced Company Taxes

In some cases, the cost of lunches can be treated as a tax deduction for your company. There are some guidelines that must be followed, but if you meet the standards, your company can save on taxes in exchange for providing your employees with free lunches. You'll have to provide the meals onsite, such as in a company cafeteria, to qualify. Additionally, you'll have to show that you're providing the meals due to a lack of affordable and reasonable food options nearby, because you need your staff on call and accessible, or because the nature of your business makes it difficult for workers to take a full hour for their lunch breaks.

If you've been looking for things you can offer your employees to improve morale and help maintain a healthy workforce, providing catered meals may be the way to go. As you can see, this type of perk has many benefits for both employee and company. Contact a food service management company for more info.