The Top Days in the Office

    How leading workplaces use technology-driven food and beverage programs to drive office traffic. 

    Top days in the office employee engagement trends

    In a world where the office landscape constantly shifts, understanding office trends and making agile adjustments can be the difference between a bustling workspace and a deserted one. 

    In 2023, 77% of Fortune 100 companies opted for a hybrid strategy. This winning approach allows companies to foster in-office collaboration and innovation while letting employees enjoy remote flexibility. 

    "Hybrid is a good formula, but needs a consistency of people in the office and the buy-in as an organization to create the ideal workplace experience," says Crafty COO Chris Ritter. "There are factors that need to be in place for it to work. Nothing is more frustrating than commuting 45 minutes to an office with no one there and sitting on video calls all day."

    To avoid this, 32% of organizations opt for a structured hybrid, which is an approach that has set in-office expectations by using food and beverage to drive employees into the office on consistent days. Streamlining office traffic allows employees to harness the full power of face-to-face collaboration, resulting in a better workplace culture. 

    Explore how leading companies use technology-driven food and beverage programs to create a productive and engaging workplace.

    TRENDS REPORT

    THE FUTURE OF
    THE WORKPLACE

    Fuel your hybrid hospitality strategy in 2024 and unlock workplace trends and expert insights. 

    Read More > 

    Crafty delivers the future of the workplace report with office snack and office drink trends and statistics

    How to predict office traffic using historical spending and automation.

    The key to success lies in having a platform that provides consistent reporting on services and consumption to predict office traffic trends. Online marketplaces like Amazon, Costco or Instacart may give you order information, but that's where they stop. They're not keeping track of your inventory and cannot tell you what days or months consumption is higher or lower. 

    The quickest way to blow through your office food and beverage budget is fragmented or uninformed ordering across locations that don't align with your workplace habits. It simply doesn't make sense to have milk or fresh produce deliveries on a Friday when office traffic is nonexistent, and it's left to expire over the weekend. You may as well just toss your money out the window. 

    Technology is the key to understanding your traffic patterns to better plan your inventory and deliveries.

    • Historical Spend Data: Use historical spending reports to understand monthly traffic trends throughout the year. For example, our data across 300+ offices tells us that December tends to be a lower-spending month, most likely due to the holidays. Therefore, it may be wise to plan for that and allocate that spend toward higher traffic months like March without increasing your budget. 
    • Automated Ordering: Automation is not the same as scheduled reordering. Scheduled reordering from online marketplaces, just reorder your products at a specific time based on the schedule you set. At Crafty, our order automation tools respond to the inventory levels our team records in our system so that orders only get placed when product inventory hits a minimum threshold. This data stream helps understand the ebbs and flows of office traffic and refine an order and delivery schedule.

    In a hybrid environment where traffic fluctuates, the Crafty Platform makes it easy to record, learn and adjust quickly to accommodate. Workplace teams can parse through their unique data to predict workplace trends and prepare. 

    Seneca Quote (1)

    The top days to be in the office across Crafty clients. 

    When determining the top days in the office, Crafty looked at the delivery days across Crafty clients. It's a no-brainer that deliveries typically happen the day before a high-traffic day. You want your office to be stocked to the brim when you know many people will be in. Plus, if you're stocking fresh products like fruits, dips, and more, you want those to be as fresh as possible. 

    Top days to work in the office

    Which days take the top honors? Here's what we found: 

    1. Tuesday
    2. Thursday
    3. Wednesday
    4. Friday
    5. Monday

    But why are these days so popular, you ask? Well, let's take a closer look.

    According to The Wall Street Journal, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the perfect trifecta. Thursdays are one of the best days to meet with higher-ups. Mondays and Fridays are too close to either side of the weekend; many use this time to start up or wind down their week. 

    If you're looking for productivity, Tuesday is your best bet. According to Accountemps, 35% of employees report Tuesday as their productivity peak. Tuesday also wins the top slot in a VergeSense analysis of office space usage trends, with Wednesday and Thursday coming in at the close second. "Many employees like to work from home on Mondays to ease into the work week and get organized," says VergeSense. "Working from home on Fridays allows employees to start their weekends sooner by cutting out their commute."

    Explore how office food and beverage programs can help drive and streamline office traffic.

    Two ways your office food service can drive employees into the office. 

    McKinsey research found that coworkers are ten times more likely to feel like they're working well together when they're working face-to-face 50% of the time. That means 2-3 days is optimal in-office attendance for most employees. Of the companies with a hybrid workplace strategy, half offer an at-will schedule, according to a survey by Envoy

    The power to choose is crucial for employee flexibility, but you also want employees in the office to feel the value of the office experience. Innovative workplaces still need to set office days but utilize food and beverage offerings to streamline this traffic to help employees coordinate. Everyone loves free food, and this helps your team coordinate their in-office days while making it easier for workplace teams to run cost-effective office programs.

    Office Pantry Programs: 

    Office Pantry

    It's not just about having food; it's about having the right food. According to our friends at Nerdwallet, food prices rose 3.7% between September 2022 and September 2023. Office food & beverage programs can save employees $2-$26/day, easing the burden on your team's wallets if they don't have to look elsewhere and catering to all employees' diverse needs. 

    "The foods our people like to eat are diverse, including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options," says Sara Rodriguez, Workplace Experience Specialist at Sprout Social. "Seeing consumption patterns change in real-time helps us define our approach to promoting a healthy selection."

    FEATURED SPOTLIGHT:

    Sprout Social Crafty Case Study (1)

    "We're passionate about food, and it's always been a cornerstone of our company culture."

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    Office Meal Programs: 

    Corporate Lunch Catering

    At Crafty HQ, the top day in the office is Tuesday, and guess what? Free lunch is provided. Coincidence? We think not!

    Consumer research from Sharebite showed that 97% of office professionals surveyed said that taking a break for lunch improves their workday, with almost one in three saying that meal benefits would encourage them to be in the office more often. 

    A hybrid workplace strategy only works when employees realize the true value of the in-office experience, and a free meal is an easy tool to get employees to come in at the same time. Harvard Business Review and Cornell University studies reveal that sharing meals with colleagues at work enhances employee morale and productivity. In-office meals maximize productivity, collaboration, and overall happiness, resulting in a livelier in-office experience worth commuting for. 

    Free lunch is the ultimate crowd-pleaser, and it takes work to achieve consistently across multiple locations. Companies want to provide local favorites, but having numerous orders and receipts is a nightmare for finance teams. Crafty partners like ezCater for local restaurant delivery to deliver that tailored catering experience with centralized invoicing. Some say it's the best of both worlds!

    Conclusion

    The future of the workplace is constantly evolving. Organizations need technology-driven food and beverage programs that elevate the in-office experience to drive traffic while maximizing every dollar. Thoughtful office pantry and meal programs provide common ground for employees to connect while fueling their productivity and creativity. Learn how to harness the power of technology to build a premium office experience with Crafty. 


    Written by

    Ashley Jones & Rebecca Ross

    CRAFT
    A BETTER
    WORKPLACE

    Elevate your office food and beverage program with enhanced services managed in one innovative, centralized platform.