Being What you Eat: the Impact of Workplace Cafeteria Food on Employee Attitudes

Abstract

Although providing employees with food options onsite is an increasingly common practice in contemporary workplaces, there is a relative lack of research that focuses on the psychological impact this food, and particularly the nutritiousness of this food, has on employees. In two complementary studies, we consider onsite cafeteria food nutrition in the context of social exchange theory and hypothesize that nutritious food acts as a signal of organizational support, which in turn predicts positive employee attitudes. In Study 1, participants randomly assigned to a hypothetical work situation in which relatively healthy food was provided in the onsite cafeteria reported higher perceived organizational support and, in turn, higher satisfaction and lower turnover intentions. In Study 2, we replicate this pattern in a sample of employees who reported on the nutritiousness of the food in their own workplace cafeterias. Furthermore, Study 2 included a measure of food nutrient characteristics, to complement mere perceptions of food healthiness. Together, these studies provide initial evidence that improved organizational cafeteria nutrition can be related to improved psychological attitudes among employees.