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A New/Old Idea to Boost Employee Loyalty
The family feeling has been lost from most companies today. Competitive pressures, demands from stockholders, and the struggling economy have all made organizations less paternalistic, less employee-friendly, and to put it simply, less fun. In response, employees have become psychologically distant from their organizations. As a result, they are less committed and more apt to leave.
Organizations have been struggling to regain employee loyalty. For example, some have had success by providing more training and growth opportunities for employees. Others have improved the skills of their managers to strengthen the bonds between employees and their supervisors. Still others have focused on developing internal publicity campaigns to brand their organizations to their employees. Others keep their talented employees in the fold by promoting their core values and giving back to the community.
What do families do to strengthen their bonds?
It may seem very simple, but what do families do to strengthen their bonds? They get together and eat. Eating together provides a way for everyone in the family to share, connect, and bond.
• Sociologists report that in families that regularly eat together, their children perform better in school.
• Physicians report that the children of families that eat together are less depressed and less likely to drink alcohol, smoke, or use marijuana.
• Psychologists report that children are better adjusted socially and emotionally when they eat with their families on a regular basis.
• Anthropologists have found that food is how social systems solidify group membership and share their belief systems. They also have found that the rituals surrounding eating binds people to their shared identity through powerful links between food and memory.
What to do…
1. Serve Food at Company Meetings.
Make sure that food is served at all company meetings. Make it food that people will enjoy eating. Set aside time for employees to eat and socialize rather than eat while they are listening to a presenter.
2. Provide Communal Spaces for Employees to Eat Together.
If you don't have a lunchroom, turn an office or some other communal space into a comfortable environment where people can sit, chat, and eat. Make it an enticing place to gather.
3. Celebrate With Food.
Celebrate company successes (e.g., landing a new customer, a big sale, or a profitable quarter) and personal occasions (such as anniversaries and birthdays) with food.
4. Make Food Fun in Your Organization.
Don't serve the same boring bagels or sandwiches at every meeting. Introduce variety. Get people involved in sharing their cooking abilities and feeding others. Conduct special food-related events such as a contest for the best chili, potato salad, curry dish, or dessert. Periodic potluck lunches or dinners are another excellent way to get people involved and sharing.
5. Develop Annual Food Eating Rituals.
For example, serve apple pie in the Fall, hold a clambake or company picnic during the summer, serve hot cider on the first day of winter, and hold your annual holiday party at the most interesting restaurant in town. Make these annual events that people can look forward to attending.
Certainly, getting employees to eat together more often is not the sole antidote for organizational problems. However, experts agree that the practice of eating together can have many positive psychological benefits. And if you're not convinced, just like taking a spoonful of your mother's chicken soup, it can't hurt.
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