Once in a while we get great guest posts here at Astron Solutions's World of HR blog, but other times people send us great links. So thanks to Melanie who sent in this great link of 10 reasons employers should pay for lunches. Paying for employee lunches is a very "Silicon Valley"-type thing to do but it doesn't take a tech start-up to provide great benefits for employees that benefit your company.
A nice second option is to have a subsidized cafeteria. I'm currently working in a building with one and it makes it very tempting to just stay in the building to grab food. It's not free, but it's cheap enough and close enough to make it a great alternative. If you want employees to feel comfortable working through their lunches, then having an option in the building that is cheap, good and easy is the best way to do that.
But even if you work through your lunch, make sure that your employees know that if they need to, they can get up out of their desk, go outside and grab some fresh air. The last thing you want to do is burn out your employees and the best way to ensure they stay refreshed is to allow them to use that 30 minutes at lunch time to get out of the office, breathe in some fresh air, grab some food, and come back rejuvenated. This doesn't have to be an everyday thing; but make sure that employees know that this is an option even if there are great dining options (free or subsidized) in the building.
Showing posts with label It’s Just Lunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label It’s Just Lunch. Show all posts
Monday, February 28, 2011
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Banning Social Networking?
If you're thinking of banning social networking from your company, you may be making a very costly mistake according to employee evolution: click here
If you're thinking of skipping those MBA recruiting sessions, you should read this Wall Street Journal article about more and more people who are doing just that: click here
If you're getting ready to retire, you should read this Journal article about planning your exit strategy: click here
If you're worried about whether you need to have a required lunch break, read this Q&A from the Human Resource blog: click here
If you're wondering the best way to leveraging talent into your company's competitive advantage, read this book review from the HR Practitioner: click here
If you're trying to figure out what the role of Human Resources should be in employer branding, read this PUREcommunications article: click here
And if you're looking for an HR job, who are we to ignore social networking after we talked about it's importance, so here's a LiveJournal entry on a website for HR jobs: click here
If you're thinking of skipping those MBA recruiting sessions, you should read this Wall Street Journal article about more and more people who are doing just that: click here
If you're getting ready to retire, you should read this Journal article about planning your exit strategy: click here
If you're worried about whether you need to have a required lunch break, read this Q&A from the Human Resource blog: click here
If you're wondering the best way to leveraging talent into your company's competitive advantage, read this book review from the HR Practitioner: click here
If you're trying to figure out what the role of Human Resources should be in employer branding, read this PUREcommunications article: click here
And if you're looking for an HR job, who are we to ignore social networking after we talked about it's importance, so here's a LiveJournal entry on a website for HR jobs: click here
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
What I’m Hearing…Professional Dating
On a recent flight to Chicago, I read Continental Airline’s in-flight magazine (www.continental.com/magazine). The magazine had an ad for a service called It’s Just Lunch. According to the ad, “It’s Just Lunch is the dating service designed for the busy professional.” The service matches you up with other compatible individuals with whom you meet for a low pressure lunch to see if the relationship is worth pursuing.
The ad contains several facts to build the case for needing their services. Although the referenced studies aren’t cited by name, the “facts” are as follows:
1. Americans work the longest hours among industrialized countries.
2. Half of white-collar workers log fifty or more hours a week.
3. Americans take more than 405,000,000 business trips each year.
4. 42% of Americans work more hours now than they did 5 years ago.
5. Meeting someone special can be a full-time job.
The upshot? Time is precious and it’s never coming back. Waste a few hours on a bad date and your weekend is shot.
This got me thinking. First, if people are this busy, do they genuinely have the time to invest in a meaningful relationship? Or does the name truly say it all – it’s just lunch?
Second, why are we working this much? Do we work this hard because “we’re supposed to,” or do we work this hard because our work positively contributes to our lives and well-being, as well as the lives of those we impact?
Third, when did dating become a job? Isn’t it supposed to be fun? I never considered meeting someone special to be a business.
Perhaps if we took a little more time to enjoy a positive work/life balance, dating wouldn’t be as high risk an activity as the ad makes it out to be.
The ad contains several facts to build the case for needing their services. Although the referenced studies aren’t cited by name, the “facts” are as follows:
1. Americans work the longest hours among industrialized countries.
2. Half of white-collar workers log fifty or more hours a week.
3. Americans take more than 405,000,000 business trips each year.
4. 42% of Americans work more hours now than they did 5 years ago.
5. Meeting someone special can be a full-time job.
The upshot? Time is precious and it’s never coming back. Waste a few hours on a bad date and your weekend is shot.
This got me thinking. First, if people are this busy, do they genuinely have the time to invest in a meaningful relationship? Or does the name truly say it all – it’s just lunch?
Second, why are we working this much? Do we work this hard because “we’re supposed to,” or do we work this hard because our work positively contributes to our lives and well-being, as well as the lives of those we impact?
Third, when did dating become a job? Isn’t it supposed to be fun? I never considered meeting someone special to be a business.
Perhaps if we took a little more time to enjoy a positive work/life balance, dating wouldn’t be as high risk an activity as the ad makes it out to be.
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