As one of the world’s most popular daily drinks, coffee is at the top of most people’s to-drink list in the morning. For its soothing warmth, delicious flavour and mild stimulant effect, the experience of a good cup of coffee is a familiar comfort, which can actually enhance the workplace environment. With office workers feeling energized and mentally sharp, production levels in the office go up, resulting in happier management and satisfied workers.

Although it is ultimately a personal preference as to whether you enjoy coffee or not, coffee consumption in the workplace can result in a number of obvious and not-so-obvious benefits. From advantages to individuals such as improved brain function to helping the team by improving solidarity, office coffee machines, arguably hold the key to a more productive office environment.

Let’s take a look at how having coffee in the workplace can ultimately pay off and improve your office culture.

Perk Up Productivity

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of having coffee in the office is the productivity and efficiency boost that each of your workers will experience should they choose to indulge. Coffee has been proven to increase focus which can come in handy when deadlines are close or if meetings tend to go on too long. Coffee also enhances creativity and can relieve stress. You can be sure that the quality of your team’s work will improve with access to quality coffee.

Mend Morale

The opportunity to take a short coffee break in-and-of-itself is a great way to boost morale with your team. Small perks such as having great coffee on offer can significantly improve positivity in the workplace. Providing these refreshments is a good way to show your employees that you respect and appreciate them. In one poll, the majority of workers responded that they believed an employer providing hot beverages for office employees indicated that they cared about their workers’ well being.

Boost Solidarity

If you want your team to get along well – perhaps both inside and outside of the office – providing coffee is a great method of getting there. One study from MIT shows that coffee breaks can increase the strength of an office team. Coffee can function as a mild social lubricant and coffee breaks lend themselves to small talk, discussion, and opinion and frustration sharing. This can help to solve work-related problems quickly and can even increase the chances for innovative new ideas arising from these light discussions.

Minimize Unethical Behaviour

Some studies suggest that when workers are sleepier, they are more likely to accede to unethical behaviour in the office. By promoting wakefulness, a caffeine boost can assist with self-control, willpower, and decision-making, all of which can encourage employees to do the right thing and point out unfair or unethical practices at work. Furthermore, sleepiness can increase the risk of errors in performance and even injuries in the workplace. Within reason, coffee can serve as a counterweight to the effects of sleepiness to avoid unpleasant accidents such as these.

Give Clients and Customers a Good Impression

For networking purposes, it is extremely handy to have freshly brewed coffee on hand in the office. If clients or potential customers frequently visit your business, offering them a coffee is a great way to break the ice and encourage a positive relationship moving forward. However, it should be noted that this is only likely to occur if the quality of the coffee is good.

Make Your Office a Well-Oiled Machine

While adding a coffee machine to your work place should not be the only thing you do to show your workers that you respect them, it is a great way to start. Considering all of the benefits that coffee can bring to your office serving coffee to your employees should be seen as an investment in the future of your company. After all, a well-caffeinated workforce will likely perform better than a decaffeinated one. Make the daily grind a little more enjoyable for everyone and it will certainly be worth it.