Ways to create a truly awesome breakroom

If you’re running the kind of office that’s designed to maximize productivity and boost morale as best as possible, then you have a very real need for an awesome breakroom.

Your team needs more than a place that they can sit and eat some food, they need a breakroom where they can take a real break, get themselves refreshed, and recover those energy levels before they get back into their work.

Here are a few examples of additions to your breakroom that can make it truly awesome, as well as just how they benefit your team and your bottom line.

Make it a place for snacking

The breakroom should, first of all, be a place to indulge the need for a little comfort throughout the working day. Installing things like vending machines and a coffee machine, or a simple pantry that you keep stocked throughout the week with both healthy and treat options can help give your team both the energy boost and the little morale bump they could use in the middle of the day.

Offer some comfort

Aside from being a place to enjoy their lunch, as well as a cup of joe or a nice snack, the breakroom should offer a place for some real respite, and one of the best ways to offer that is to make sure that it’s a physically comfortable place to be, first of all. Invest in comfortable furniture, and make sure you create some communal seating areas so that your team can better enjoy one another’s company (if they’re so inclined) while taking that break. Encouraging social ties elsewhere encourages collaboration in the office.

It’s all fun and games

A lot of modern workplace breakrooms have started to incorporate some sort of games to allow their employees to play and enjoy some friendly competition when they’re not working. From table hockey to playing some EA Sports NHL on the PS4, this a great way to help employees blow off some steam and reduce those stress levels by letting it all out in their field of play. Plus, games are by far one of the best ways for your team to build the social ties that can allow them to better collaborate and communicate with one another.

Space to create

Some of your team members are going to be in work mode all day and feel their brain firing off with a hundred ideas a minute. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t encourage them to take a break, however. Rather, you should help them benefit from their break with a creative space that offers something like a chalkboard. You will find plenty of people drawn to leaving messages, doodles, and the like, but it can also be a great place for people to quickly jot down their ideas when they have a lightbulb moment and enjoy conversations about work a little more loosely, without having to tie it down to any deadlines or what they’re currently doing.

A quiet space

The breakroom shouldn’t all be about the team and being an active member of the social groups that can make up that team. It should also be a place where those who are having a difficult day can rest and recuperate or those who just need a break can enjoy it. Making quiet rooms accessible during breaks can play a big role in helping your team members combat stress in the workplace. Dim lights, comfy couches, and soundproof walls can make for just the kind of retreat they need to center themselves and come back to work feeling rejuvenated.

Some workout equipment

If you’re able to, then it’s best to make room for a real office gym where members of the team can get the movement that they need throughout the day. However, that’s not always possible, of course, so you should also look at how to use the break space you have to offer access to a little workout equipment. It might be as simple as a few mats for yoga, an elliptical machine or two, or just enough room for your team to run basic aerobic exercise routines, helping them better take care of themselves in the workplace.

Don’t worry about the idea of a breakroom being too fun, too distracting, or too unprofessional. The best modern businesses run on balance, and the breakroom should be used as a place for them to let loose and hang out so that they’re ready to get back into a more productive and professional mode of operation.