Bringing in cake to the office has been compared to passive smoking
It’s Wednesday morning in January, the hump of the week. The temperature is a balmy -5 degrees. The emails are pouring in and your Excel spreadsheet is making you dizzy. It’s only 9:30am! Just then, a kind soul walks in and places a box in the office breakout area. “It’s my birthday so I’ve brought in cake,” she announces. Instant Joy. Or is it? Prof Susan Jebb, chairwoman of the Food Standards Agency, certainly doesn’t think so. She has announced that this act of kindness is as harmful to our health as passive smoking. She wants to put an end to the temptation of unhealthy treats in the workplace.
On reflection, we are feeling pretty guilty about bringing trays of sugary cupcakes branded with our logo to an event in Crawley. Are we really suggesting this can be compared with us bringing along packets of cigarettes and puffing away all afternoon?
Bad eating habits in the workplace
Smoking vs cake-eating debates aside, the proposed ban on office cake got us thinking about our eating habits. We have a fruit bowl which everyone can help themselves to. Unfortunately, the fruit bowl has recently transformed into a snack bowl. There may be a grape rotting under there somewhere but to call it a fruit bowl now would be false advertising. Generous suppliers pop in bearing boxes of donuts or chocolate and these are placed in. It should be renamed ‘The Bowl of Guilt.’ I pass The Bowl of Guilt on my way to the toilet and inevitably feel the need to pick something up on my way back to my desk. This is not a good habit.
How can you promote healthy eating in the office?
- Encourage colleagues to gather over lunch and step away from their desks. Make space for tables and chairs to eat a healthy lunch rather than grazing on bags of crisps over a laptop.
- Provide lots of healthy snacks available so that no one is tempted to pop out for a 3pm biscuit run. Nominate a colleague to ensure the fruit bowl is topped up or start a rota. Everyone can contribute to a ‘fruit fund’ or maybe this is something the company would consider providing as a perk.
- Update your office kitchen or tea point so that staff can prep their lunch. Not everyone has time to make their lunch before work so provide facilities to make something when they get there helps steer them away from convenience and fast food.
- Make it a challenge – some healthy (pardon the pun) competition always goes down well in the office. The British Nutrition Foundation offers lots of ideas and resources such as a 5 A DAY tracker challenge (right) where staff record their fruit and veg consumption.
- Increase visibility to promote healthy eating with signs and displays setting visual reminders. Have a food focus of the week i.e. Fibre. Display a hamper of fibre-rich food. Offer the hamper as a prize each week for healthy eating.
- Mix up the constant coffee drinking with a hydration station. Offer healthy juices, smoothies and flavoured waters as an alternative to caffeine binging.
Below are images of Kitchens, Tea points and Breakout areas we have recently designed for our clients to inspire you to update your workspace and encourage healthy eating.
