Building relationships within the organization and getting people to work together is one of the greatest challenges that leaders face today.  It is important for leaders to create an adaptive and responsive environment to enable employees to collaborate and communicate more often with one another. Often, leaders today are relying on food as the bridge that brings employees together.  Although that itself poses quite a few dilemmas as to what kind of food can colleagues indulge in front of other colleagues. 

 In all curiosity we ask, what kind of lunch would you like to have with your colleagues? Something dainty and clean like a salad or are you Messy Mary willing to indulge with some juicy ribs? Many employees hesitate to grab that slurpy burger or anything close to messy during a professional lunch.  Even though they are tempted to do so, food that can get dirty is usually avoided. The question of the day is: is it a good idea to have barbecue ribs or a burger in front of your colleagues or during a professional brainstorming session? Plan your next team lunch here

Esseplore explores this dilemma today with you:  Messy or professional? Here are 3 powerful reasons why you can occasionally make a mess when eating with your colleagues.

It breaks barriers, builds bridges, creates rapport

Grabbing that slurpy burger or juicy barbecue ribs in front of your colleagues, does not tell them that you’re unprofessional. Instead, it says ‘I’m comfortable in this space’ or ‘I want to enjoy this lunch with you.’  Shedding inhibitions when it comes to food during professional lunches can break the ice and enable informal conversation that will build more bridges than in a formal conference room.  It leads to more interesting, diverse discussions. It can perhaps lead to numerous opportunities for idea generation and building rapport.  It does foster bonding, team building and more loyalty towards each other.  It’s a great way to build positive energy and fun vibes at the workplace.  Happy workers always mean enhanced productivity.

‘’Let’s build bridges, not walls’  Martin Luther King Jr

It makes team building easier

When lunches become informal occasionally with colleagues, they can grab a barbecue portion or juicy ribs in front of one another without hesitations. This fosters team building, and employers will look forward to coming together more often. Spending time together as a team will build loyalty, trust, and communication. This will benefit the organization in more ways than one.

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“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Michael Jordan

It enables laughter and makes way for humor

A series of studies show that humor and laughter can have a positive impact in the office.  Institutions like MIT, London Business school have done research that highlights the fact that a giggle or two have numerous benefits on business.   Laughter also relieves boredom and the monotony of having to do the same things every day.  It relieves stress and enhances engagement between co-workers. It is also known to accelerate collaboration and creativity professionally. Grabbing a burger or slurping over juicy barbecue in front of your colleagues can also place you on the receiving end of jokes.  This too can bring on a world of benefits. 

Indulge in gourmet meals from different cuisines, prepared by our top-graded chefs.

“Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine.” Lord Byron

The impact of laughter is significant in lightning the mood and reducing mental stress.  It is known to also induce physical changes in your body. You begin to relax more and assume a more comfortable posture.  It naturally increases intake of ‘oxygen-rich air’’, thereby releasing the famous endorphins that make all of us happy. 

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” Helen Keller

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Sherral Joseph

Author Sherral Joseph

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