How free food incentivises workers to return to the office
Are we just hungry?
A friend of mine recently returned from a work trip to his company’s head office, and his description of the experience made my jaw drop. “Honestly,” he said, “it felt less like an office and more like a five star restaruant.” He described a buffet style breakfast with daily specials, a free cafe, and a fully stocked fruit and salad bar. The picture he showed me from lunch was a plate loaded with roasted chicken, seafood, and linguine. All of it was free.
I asked if the food was any good. He just laughed. “Good? I would have paid for it.”
Meanwhile, many other companies with return to office mandates came with no frills. For them, the office kitchen has the same sputtering coffee machine and sad empty refrigerator it did in 2019. Memos announcing mandatory three-in-office days speak of “synergy” and “in person collaboration,” but the reality for many is a costly commute, working with co-workers that aren’t even part of your team. This is where you start to see the major corporate identity crisis among workplaces.
According to a 2025 Gallop poll,
The preference for flexibility is nearly universal: 93% of remote capable employees want either a hybrid (60%) or fully remote (30%) work arrangement.
The same Gallup research revealed that 64% of exclusively remote employees would be “extremely likely” to search for a new job if that flexibility were taken away. Other studies, like one from SHRM, show a consistent majority of workers favoring a hybrid model over being fully in office.
The office is no longer the default.
If the work itself isn’t enough of a draw, what does it say about a workplace culture that it needs to be supplemented with free food?
The home office
After the pandemic rapidly redefined our relationship with work, many employees became masters of their domain. Before the pandemic, only about 7% of workers with remote-capable jobs worked from home full time. By October 2020, that number had skyrocketed, with 71% of those workers doing their job from home all or most of the time.
I personally started my UX career in the early days of the pandemic, so I’ve never really worked in an office before. But what I can say is that I’ve tailored my home office for efficiency and productivity.
My home office is a space I’ve designed with intention. I have a large custom wooden desk with an ergonomic setup, a dual monitor display running my preferred OS, and a mechanical keyboard that prevents my fingers from getting fatigued. I also have high ceilings that give me a sense of creative space, and I can listen to music on speakers instead of being tethered to headphones. I can work in my pajamas and have constant access to my kitchen, allowing me to stay on top of my diet.
To put it simply, I’ve created an environment where I can do my best work.
The way I see it is like this. When companies began calling for a full scale return, they weren’t just asking employees to change their location for “synergy or in-person collaboration”. They were asking them to abandon their user-centric environment they had built for themselves. As a 2023 Gallup report notes, a significant portion of the workforce actively resists returning, citing improved focus and well-being at home.
The office must now compete with the comforts and efficiencies of a home office. That’s a high bar.
Employers are being forced to rebrand the office experience itself. Food has become their most potent tool. It’s visceral, emotional, and sends a powerful message of care and community.
Values that were often neglected in pre-pandemic office culture. These culinary perks are the new UX layer of the physical workplace, an intuitive design choice intended to shape how we feel about being in an office.
True cost of in person work
In person work is often more than just a regular 8–5 or 9–5 where your salary is paid for the 8 hours that you’re physically performing your job.
The clock doesn’t just start when you sit at your desk. Each day includes preparation time: picking out work-appropriate clothing, getting ready, making yourself presentable. And that’s before you face the unpredictable gauntlet of traffic, packed public transit, or weather delays. For many, this means sacrificing sleep or personal time,
“The true cost of going back to the office can mean losing up to two hours a day just getting ready and commuting.” — Moneysense
The real cost of going back to the office – MoneySense
What about that breakfast you missed? Did you have time to pack your lunch? The sneaky day to day spending that comes with office life often tags on as part of your lifestyle inflation.
A redditor on r/personalfinancecanada commented:
“Once I was back in the office, my $3 morning coffee and $12 lunch started to feel ‘normal.’ That’s $75 a week and $3,900 a year — not including new work clothes or commuting.”
This is especially true because your work days are suddenly longer, leading to less time for yourself and creating an ideal scenario for you to choose convenience at every turn. All of a sudden, buying food becomes an easier choice because you’re short on time. Sleeping later into the evening because you weren’t able to run errands on time.
The true cost of in-person work is measured in hours lost, dollars spent, and day-to-day stress. These hidden expenses often outpace the value of a free sandwich or coffee in the office.
The psychology of the free lunch
Behavioral economists often refer to “free” as the zero price effect.
Zero Price Effect is a phenomenon where the demand for a good becomes significantly greater when its price is zero compared to when it’s even a nominal amount.
The absence of a cost triggers a strong, positive emotional response that can override rational thought. That mediocre pastry you would never buy suddenly becomes an irresistible treat simply because it costs you nothing.
Offering food is a tangible signal that an organization values its people, tapping into our fundamental need for appreciation. This feeling of being cared for is a powerful catalyst for loyalty. A Forbes Article highlights that feeling appreciated is a key driver for engagement. This fosters a sense of reciprocity, that deep-seated social instinct to give something back when something is received. The “gift” of a meal creates a subtle, unspoken obligation to return the favor with loyalty, collaboration, and maybe just showing up more often.
The Real Reason Google Serves All That Free Food
Eating is an inherently communal activity. Sharing a meal breaks down formal hierarchies and creates a space for the kind of spontaneous, informal interactions that are nearly impossible to replicate on a scheduled Zoom call.
2022 study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that 75% of employees who eat lunch with their colleagues feel they have better personal relationships with them.
When a critical mass of people gathers for a free lunch, it makes the office feel more vibrant and less empty, encouraging even the most hesitant individuals to participate.
Free food as retention, recruitment and productivity fuel
The impact of culinary perks in the office goes well beyond a pleasant lunch hour. With the pressure on companies to do more to retain and attract talent, free food has proven surprisingly effective.
According to a 2024 ezCater study, 88% of business leaders say providing food encourages employees to work on-site, and 78% report it makes employees more likely to stay at their company.
In the competition for applicants, companies now actively highlight “free catered lunch” or “fully stocked pantry” in job ads, acknowledging that food is a magnet.
But it’s also about keeping your best people productive. Employees who receive regular, healthy meals are less likely to skip meals, rely on vending-machine snacks, or spend time searching for lunch options.
Over 65% of workers without employer-provided meals resort to snacks in place of lunch, and nearly half will simply skip a meal entirely.
With food at hand, employees save upwards of $2,500 a year and reclaim 30 minutes per day previously spent hunting down lunch.
In today’s economic climate, the practical benefit of free food can’t be ignored.
Beyond dollar savings, access to nutritious options at work reinforces wellness: daily meals mean fewer skipped lunches and healthier choices, which in turn support energy, focus, and long-term well-being.
As the era of “sad desk salads” fades, employers are reconsidering food as a strategic lever for culture, health, and satisfaction. The most forward-thinking companies partner with local restaurants, experiment with pop-up food stations, and create flexible plans that prioritize genuine nourishment.
Final thoughts
When viewed through a UX lens, free food in the workplace is an exercise in designing holistic environments that genuinely support and delight people. The best office food programs don’t just serve positive experiences by easing daily friction, welcoming diverse dietary needs, and fostering a sense of belonging around the table.
Designing food perks with users in mind means much more than providing variety. It calls for inclusive meal planning, clear and enticing presentation, as well as spaces that invite spontaneous interaction. When employees are empowered to choose meals that align with wellness or cultural values, or find inviting spaces for collaboration, the workplace becomes both a destination and a community.
Ultimately, well-designed food experiences express a company’s respect for time and well-being. They create daily moments of delight, boost engagement, and help people feel valued not just as workers, but as individuals.
With inflation and everyday expenses on the rise, free meals provide tangible relief. For many employees, knowing that breakfast or lunch is on the house means one less line on their grocery bill and greater flexibility in their monthly budgets. In our affordability crisis, free food offers real, practical value that makes the return to office easier to swallow.
How free food incentivises workers to return to the office was originally published in UX Collective on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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