How to Build the Perfect Breakroom for Your Employees

Your employee’s breakroom provides them with an area to relax during their lunch breaks and take a breather when they’re feeling particularly stressed.

It’s important to create the ideal breakroom for your staff that promotes a calming and welcoming environment. Doing so can enhance employee satisfaction and reduce stress and burnout. It can contribute to a better company culture and improved productivity within the workplace. 

Below, we’ve covered some key steps for building the perfect breakroom for your employees to relax, recover, and socialize on their lunch breaks.

Invest in Comfortable Seating

You’ll need comfortable breakroom chairs and sofas where your staff can sit down and chill out as they eat their lunches. Consider investing in ergonomic seating that encourages your team to sit with better posture and may contribute to improved health and well-being.

Consider incorporating other types of seating, such as lounge chairs and bean bags, to promote ultimate relaxation and accommodate different preferences. Doing so helps your employees get used to being in the office if they have previously worked at home or are new to the workplace environment.

Create a Hot Drinks Station

Adding a hot drinks area to your breakroom is a great way to enhance its comfort and enables your staff to sit back and relax with a hot cup of their favourite drink.

Add a table with tea bags, caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, a variety of milk choices (including cow’s milk and non-dairy alternatives), and sachets of table sugar and low-calorie sweeteners. Install hot water tanks on the wall or use portable ones to provide boiling water. You might also want to include some hot chocolate powder on your hot drinks station for those who don’t enjoy tea or coffee. 

Enhance Natural Light

Natural sunlight can help your staff to stay awake during long work shifts and prevent fatigue. It can also enhance overall health by increasing vitamin D synthesis and elevating mood. 

You can maximize the amount of natural light your breakroom receives by installing lots of windows and keeping curtains and blinds to a minimum. Consider supplementing natural light with sun lamps or low-intensity artificial lighting so your employees can still see clearly during darker evenings.

Cooking Equipment and Dinnerware

Whether your employees bring packed lunches to work or buy something at a nearby takeaway for lunch, they will need cutlery and dinnerware to eat their food.

Those who bring food with them to work may also need cooking equipment, like a microwave, toaster, and kettle. Don’t forget to provide these basic appliances in your breakroom so your staff have a versatile choice of things to make for their lunches.

You should also include a refrigerator in your breakroom, where your staff members can store fresh food during their morning shifts and grab it at lunchtime. Aim to install a fridge that has enough space for all of your employees to store their food so everybody has the freedom to keep their lunch foods fresh and delicious.