SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Small Business — tracks feedback from small-business owners. We run the poll question each Thursday in our e-newsletter.
Last week, we asked: MSNBC published an article on employers that provide free lunches as an employee perk. Is that something your business does?
- There are no free lunches here: 40%
- We rarely provide free lunches: 30.5%
- We regularly provide free lunches: 19%
- We provide free lunches daily: 6%
- We provide free lunches more than once a week: 2.5%
- We provide free lunches once a week: 2%
From the looks of the responses, it appears there’s still no such thing as a free lunch at the majority of small businesses. Still, there are plenty of employers that are treating their employees to a midday meal on a regular basis.
While it might not be practical to provide free lunches every day for employees, do keep in mind that food can be a great unifier. Occasionally having a team meeting over lunch is a nice way to say thank you and get some work done at the same time.
Sharlyn Lauby is the HR Bartender and president of ITM Group.