“Science may never come up with a better office communication system than the coffee break.”
Earl Wilson
As you’ve probably gathered from my weekly sermons on our blog preaching about better office coffee, coffee is a big part of our company culture here at Greener Media.
It’s gets us all into working mode in the morning, we gather around it to plan creative content strategies and it makes up a big part of our individual writing rituals. Coffee helps stimulate creativity, focus and greatly improves our productivity (Or does it? Find out next week…).
Over the time I have been here, I have worked with my colleagues on perfecting artisanal brewing techniques like Moka and Aeropress, getting the best out of our office coffee machine, milk texturing and sourcing great beans to make our office coffee the best it can possibly be. I’m starting to think I was hired for my coffee knowledge as much as anything else!
We have been on a journey together. Improving the office coffee that brings us together has been a bonding experience, and has helped cement our relationships and a stronger company culture.
Better Office Coffee = Better Company Culture
As I discussed last week, coffee can improve energy, focus and productivity. But great office coffee is not just good for company culture for its caffeine hit. If we assume that INC.com know what they are talking about when they write:
“Building a collaborative culture requires defining and building a shared purpose, cultivating an ethic of contribution, developing processes that enable people to work together in flexible but disciplined projects, and creating an infrastructure in which collaboration is valued and rewarded.”
Then I think it’s fair to argue that, regardless of the size of your organisation, better office coffee is also a driver of a collaborative and creative company culture. It’s the perfect reason to gather together, to share conversation and laughter. It’s a way to make connections and get to know each other a little better, which will ultimately feed into a stronger company culture.
We find it particularly useful as a means to disconnect briefly from the online world and make human connections instead! Working in the online publishing and content marketing industry means that we spend our days connected to the minute-by-minute, ever-changing world of the internet, which can make it difficult to devote time to talking to each other outside a meeting setting.
Happier Employees – Mindfulness & the Ritual
If you have been following my column since the beginning, it’s likely that you’ve added a few processes to your morning coffee ritual. I believe that this ritualistic aspect of better office coffee contributes directly to employee happiness.
The process of grinding the beans, extracting the coffee and serving can be extremely relaxing. It allows you to unplug for a few moments, focus on a single, simple task, and live mindfully in the now. Mindfulness is proven to improve empathy among staff and foster greater teamwork, all vital components of a strong company culture.
“When something you do daily and habitually can be ritualistic and sacred, that’s when you feel like you’re really living in the now.”
Our mission for better office coffee is as much about bringing people together as it is improving the quality of the coffee we drink. That’s why coffee breaks are so important…right boss?!
How does coffee feed into your company culture? Tell us in the comments section below, tweet us @GreenerMediaUK using the hashtag #betterofficecoffee or get in touch on Facebook.
Next week, I’ll delve a little deeper into this topic, asking ‘When is the right time to consume coffee?”
