In a disconnected society, sharing meals at work can bring people together
August 22, 2018
Lately, the idea of serving food at work has come under fire. Critics have suggested that when companies have on-site restaurants, it hurts the local economy. They’ve also dismissed the idea of offering food at work as an elitist perk.
I’m here to voice an alternative perspective: when it’s done right, a company’s food program can connect people at a time when disconnection is at epidemic levels.
The loneliness epidemic
In today’s digital world, there is no dearth of ways to connect with each other; and yet, research shows that we’re feeling less connected and more isolated than ever before. In the U.S., loneliness rates have doubled since the 1980s, and the impact on our health is extreme.
Former U.S. surgeon general Vivek Murthy is one expert who has brought the health risks of loneliness to light. He notes that the impact of loneliness on a person’s lifespan is comparable to that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day. What’s more, he says that the impact of loneliness on a person’s lifespan is greater than that of obesity.
I want to pause and say that again: Loneliness poses a greater risk to our health than the much-touted bogeyman of obesity.
According to Murthy, loneliness also leads to poorer performance at work. What’s more, “it limits creativity,” he says, and “it impairs other aspects of executive function, such as decision-making.”
The loneliness epidemic, it turns out, may impact not only our health, but also our economy.
Sharing a meal: the original social networking
I like to say that sharing a meal is the original social networking. Before we gathered around each other’s Facebook posts, tweets, and Instagram photos, we gathered around food. “The sharing of food has always been part of the human story,” reads an article in National Geographic that examines how, exactly, eating brings us closer. “From Qesem Cave near Tel Aviv comes evidence of ancient meals prepared at a 300,000-year-old hearth, the oldest ever found, where diners gathered to eat together.”
As it turns out, sharing a meal is a powerful antidote to loneliness. As Cody C. Delistraty writes in The Atlantic, “Eating alone can be alienating. The dinner table can act as a unifier, a place of community.” Being part of a community in turn improves our health: according to the NIH, “Scientists are finding that our links to others can have powerful effects on our health. Whether with family, friends, neighbors, romantic partners, or others, social connections can influence our biology and well-being.”
This loneliness epidemic may be related to the fact that Americans’ tendency to sit down together for family dinner is currently on the decline. Perhaps this is because we are all so much busier with work, or maybe it’s a result of the increase in double-breadwinner households leaving no one at home to focus on preparing family meals.
Whatever the cause, despite this decline, the desire to connect over our food rather than simply keeping it to ourselves is unrelenting. According to a Maru/Matchbox study forecasting 2017 trends, 69 percent of millennials take a photo or video of their food and post it to social media before they eat. What’s more, while traditional family dinners may be less and less common, meals are still a common go-to for solidifying social bonds, from first dates to lunches welcoming a new employee, to gatherings with friends.
Why does sharing meals at work matter?
The bottom line is that sharing meals at work matters because of the sheer amount of time so many Americans spend at work. Former surgeon general Murthy observes,
“To truly solve loneliness requires the engagement of institutions where people spend the bulk of their time: families, schools, social organizations, and the workplace. “
It’s a matter of fact that for many of us, work is a major source of social connection. I’ve long been obsessed with creating experiences with food that help people live and work better — both from inside major tech companies (first at Google, and now at Adobe, where I’m the head of our global food program) and as an entrepreneur (my catering company, Gastronaut, catered the earliest meals of many successful San Francisco startups, including Twitter and Square).
Over the years, I’ve observed how sharing meals at work can strengthen bonds between employees. In her book, Eating Together, Alice P. Julier, director of the graduate program in food studies in the School of Sustainability and the Environment at Chatham University, argues that sharing a meal helps people see each other as equal more easily than they would in other social settings. I’ve seen how colleagues who might not typically find themselves sitting next to each other strike up casual conversations; these conversations lead to increased empathy across departments, and can spark ideas that inform product innovation.
Community ripple effect
As I shared in my last article, having a great food program at work can have a powerful impact on the company’s culture and the connections between employees. But this impact doesn’t end at work. It can, does, and should, extend out.
While loneliness is on the rise, the power of the social network is alive and kicking. When I say “social network,” I don’t mean social media, necessarily; I mean the network of relationships in which every single one of us exists. Research from social scientists Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler shows that everything from obesity to happiness spreads through these networks, impacting others two or more degrees removed from the source. If, through the power of sharing meals at work, people become less lonely, healthier, and happier, then, through the power of social networks, those benefits will spread to friends and family outside the workplace and into the broader community.
The role of the workplace in a greater societal trend towards social connectedness doesn’t end with this passive ripple effect. Murthy observes:
“Companies in particular have the power to drive change at a societal level not only by strengthening connections among employees, partners, and clients but also by serving as an innovation hub that can inspire other organizations to address loneliness.”
Among all of Silicon Valley companies’ much-hyped workplace innovations, what if the key innovation here is the food? Could the corporate food cultures proliferating throughout Silicon Valley become fertile testing grounds for new ways to become more socially connected beings?
It’s the thoughtfulness that counts
I’m not suggesting that all corporate food programs are created equal. In fact, Murthy noted in his report on workplace and loneliness that “real connection requires creating an environment that embraces the unique identities and experiences of employees inside and outside the workplace.” In my upcoming articles, and in a talk I’ll deliver at reThink Food in November, I’ll provide some more examples and insights into delivering the right kind of food program for a company’s culture and desired business outcomes.
In the meantime, here is one example. At Adobe we strive to include foods from employees’ home countries on our menus; this opens the door to conversations about people’s identities beyond what they might typically share at work, in ways that strengthen our shared company culture. My team regularly partners with different community groups throughout the company, from a plant-based proteins lifestyle club to Adobe & Women, to plan special menus tied to heritage months and beyond. Adobe employee Portia Neal wrote to express her gratitude after we served Salbutes, a food from her home country of Belize, as part of our menu for Black History Month:
“I was excited to see dishes from my home country served in the cafes. Food is a big part of my culture and something I don’t often get to experience or share as there are very few Belizeans in this area.”
Evidence is starting to indicate that investments in our food program are driving more social connections at Adobe. At our corporate offices in San Jose, where we’ve invested most heavily in the food experience for employees, we’ve seen a 13 percent increase in lunch participation since 2014 along with a 5 percent increase in employees showing up to the office (vs. working remotely or otherwise not attending).
More people coming to work and participating in the meals we share at Adobe has the power to drive more social connections, less loneliness, overall health and better performance at work. When a company’s food program is designed thoughtfully, it has the potential to strengthen social networks, and to spread health and happiness through and beyond those networks.
I’ll toast to that.
