New Survey of U.S. Employees Finds Small Perks in the Office Can Have a Big Impact on Feeling Motivated and Valued
Two Years of Limited Pay Increases and Workplace Benefits Leave Employees Appreciating Simple Luxuries (Fairfield, New Jersey's Corporate Essentials is an Authorized Keurig Distributor)
READING, Mass.--(
BUSINESS WIRE)--In today’s challenging times, business owners and managers seek effective ways to improve morale in the workplace and help keep staff motivated, especially when employees are being asked to do more with less. Now, new survey findings reveal that small perks can have a major impact in boosting employee morale. According to a national survey, three out of five employed Americans feel more motivated to do their best work when provided with perks in the office and nearly half of those surveyed said small perks make them feel more valued.
“Employers can inexpensively offer simple perks in the office like flexible working hours, casual dress days or a celebration pizza that offers a significant perceived value to employees.”
“It’s important for business managers to recognize and reward their staff for their hard work, even if a tight budget only allows for small perks. Simple rewards can go a long way in attracting, motivating and retaining needed talent,” said Dr. Bob Nelson, a leading authority on workforce motivation, a best-selling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees and Keeping Up in a Down Economy and co-founder of Recognition Professionals International. “Employers can inexpensively offer simple perks in the office like flexible working hours, casual dress days or a celebration pizza that offers a significant perceived value to employees.”
Nelson points to fresh, free gourmet coffee as a commonly desired office perk that has a very high perceived value to employees, helping them save money, improve morale and enhance productivity - in turn benefiting employers. A recent national survey conducted on behalf of Keurig, Incorporated, a leader in single-serve brewing systems, confirms that. According to the survey:
- 37 percent of employees surveyed would prefer free, daily fresh gourmet coffee or tea over a company’s annual holiday party
- 50 percent of employees surveyed reported they are looking to cut back their spending on coffee and tea in 2010 (outside of the office)
- Surveyed Americans aged 18-34 report spending an estimated $440/year and over 38 hours/year on purchasing coffee and tea before, during and after the work day. Sixty percent said they would like to cut back their spending
“The results from this survey reflect what we regularly hear from business owners and managers about the need to help boost employee morale and maintain productivity by providing a variety of gourmet coffee, teas, or specialty drinks,” says Dave Manly, General Manager, Away From Home division for Keurig, Incorporated. “Keurig’s single cup brewing technology makes it easy by providing a variety of gourmet beverages for everyone’s tastes and without the waste, mess and hassle that you find with traditional coffeemakers.”
Keurig has offered a solution for managers looking to provide employees with a perk of fresh, gourmet coffee since 1998. The company recently launched the Commercial Series B150 and B155 brewers, which are specially designed for small to medium sized businesses and medical offices and include a new one-of-a-kind, interactive touchscreen interface that provides step-by-step instructions for brewing the perfect cup of coffee in less than a minute. Employees can choose from over 200 varieties of K-Cup® portion packs from 13 different brands, making it easy for everyone in the office to brew the coffee they love and enjoy. For more information on Keurig, please visit
www.keurig.com or call 888-CUP-BREW.
About the Survey
The national omnibus survey was developed by Keurig and Bob Nelson, Ph.D. and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation in Princeton, NJ. Opinion Research surveyed by telephone 958 adults employed full, part time, or self employed. Interviews were weighted by four variables including age, sex, geographic region, and race to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the total adult population. Interviews were conducted on Jan. 7-11, 2010. Such a sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2%.
