Why Your Company Needs a Super Cafe

The company break room is so yesterday; today it's the super cafe.

Modern companies are giving employees a lunch space that looks more like a fast-casual restaurant. They don't have servers, but self-serve and conversation areas are part of the plan.

It's really about refreshing, social interaction. After all, just about everything goes better with good food.

Real Breaks

It doesn't take a lot to turn a traditional break room into a super cafe, says Forbes writer Lena Katz. She covers construction, design, and specialty trades for the magazine.

Katz says you can get away with a kitchen upgrade, like an "excellent" snack program or games collection. But the trend setters create a "modern, colorful cafe."

"The primary function of super-cafes is to nurture social interaction," she writes. "Refreshment is available, but not necessarily the key component."

It works especially well with the trend in open-space offices. The collaborative social space is part of the millennial culture.

Open Space

Not everybody is a fan. Lawyers seem to be on the fence, which they say they literally need for client confidentiality.

But everybody agrees that lunch breaks improve everything. And what's not to like about a restaurant setting without the lunch tab?

Science apparently says that breaks increase productivity. Lunch breaks, it seems, help people "feel refreshed and get back to work."

On the other hand, the devil's advocate says employees may not want to get back to work after a trip to the super cafe. So it might help to put the lawyers at a separate table.

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