If you are in a creative field of work like advertising, movie making, then the prodigal chai-sutta (cigarette + tea) routines are as common as potholes in Indian road – regularly seen and equally hated (by non-smokers). But if you are a startup setting up shop, it is crucial to have a decent investment in a coffee machine if you don’t have a fancy pantry space. Here’s why:
Drive collaboration
Coffee machines are an excuse for people to come together without an agenda, it drives cross functional team members to be acquainted with each other who otherwise may not have reason to interact with each other.
When I was an Entrepreneur at Residence at Zone Startups India, which houses over 30 different startups, I always found it convenient to start a conversation with an otherwise shy co-founder who wouldn’t formally signup for a mentor session with me.
Improve productivity
Whether people in your office are getting less sleep due to over working to catch deadlines, or binge watching Netflix, either ways they are likely to be drowsy and sleepy at work. Coffee has caffeine, which is a strong stimulant that helps employee fight feeling slugging and be more active at work.
Studies have also proven that people who had 4 cups of coffee a day had lower levels of feeling depressed.
(Image credits: gambitmag )
Attract and retain cool people
If you are active on Instagram, it is hard to miss how many Starbucks and coffee related pictures are posted online; new age and upwardly mobile people are obsessed with good quality coffee since it makes a lifestyle statement beside being a good stimulant. The hashtag #coffeeoffice is a testament to this culture.
When I was interviewing an Editor candidate for HFT, incidentally at a Starbucks, she confessed that she left her previous new job in a week’s time due to lack of access to good coffee at work or nearby!
Whether you can afford a humble Kappi or a fancy Cappuccino, it is a prudent choice to invent in one for running a more productive office.
