This article in a nutshell:
• Your office needs a fridge
• Having a place to store lunches helps keep employees healthier
• Your fridge is like a time capsule
• Turn your fridge into a work of art
As long as I’ve been at StringCan, we’ve had a fridge. In fact, every place I’ve worked has had a fridge; I really can’t imagine a workspace without one! If your office already has a fridge, did you know that it can tell you the temperature of your company culture? And if you don’t have one, by the time you finish this short little post, hopefully your next purchase is a really “chill” one (oh yes, I intended that pun).
One of the most obvious benefits of having a fridge is that it’s a place to store food. Stick with me here. What happens if you don’t offer your employees a place to store their meals? Chances are, they will have to go out for food. Going out for food is often unhealthy, expensive, and inconvenient. If that’s not a perfect storm for an unhealthy and unhappy workforce, I don’t know what is. You can also use the fridge to store things like champagne for sales celebrations, condiments for potlucks, and healthy snacks (like mandarins or hummus) for your staff.
Not only does the fridge act as a hub for food, which people love, but it also makes the space feel more like a kitchen. And there’s something about a kitchen that makes people gravitate toward one another in this communal space. It fosters an attitude of sharing and, of course, eating in a space that feels like home. Your employees spend so much time at work, throwing a little hominess into the mix is never a bad thing.
Having a fridge also means having some responsibility. A fridge is like a living thing; it needs to be cared for, cleaned, and treated with respect. If your fridge could talk, what would it say?
When we moved offices in 2017, we took the opportunity to get a gorgeous new fridge that dispenses fresh water and ice and makes cute noises. Our CEO, Jay, had this great idea to pick up magnets on our vacations and add them to the decor of the fridge. It’s such a fun reminder of the wonderful places we’ve been that have literally spanned the globe. We also took pictures from our previous “8 Things About Me” boards, like baby pics and high school graduation, to give it an even homier feel.
I will say that I am super blessed to be surrounded by a great team that follows excellent fridge etiquette. The fridge is never gross or emitting a weird smell. Food never disappears (anyone remember the Ross/sandwich incident on Friends?). There are never any passive-aggressive notes about the aforementioned missing food, either. I reflected on this a bit, and I think it really ties in to our company culture. Our team members respect one another, and everyone pitches in. There’s no designated fridge police, or passive-aggressive anything. We share well, we communicate well, and we all appreciate how good being healthy feels.
I would seriously love to see pics of your office fridge, or better yet, to know if you found it to be a gauge of your company culture. Contact me at StringCan today!