The social glue of the team’s lunch

The post argues that eating together helps teams work better. It cites research from Cornell University and other studies to say that shared meals, face-to-face communication, psychological safety, and social time are linked to better performance and stronger knowledge sharing.

It also says organizations can support this by providing cafeterias and simple tools for choosing where to eat, such as forms, repeated messages, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Flow. For larger teams, shared lunches are harder to schedule, but regular meals can create open dialogue, informal talk, and new ideas.

Reading notes

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• Employees who ate meals together had significantly better team performance than those who did not.
• Not sharing mealtimes was described as a signal that something deeper was wrong with how the group worked.
• Eating together is presented as part of team culture, like eating with family.
• Cafeterias can improve performance and collaboration by giving colleagues a place to talk.
• Socializing with colleagues can continue outside lunch in bars or restaurants that fit the team.
• A study of 21 organizations and 2500 employees found that regular face-to-face communication, psychological safety, social time, and knowledge sharing make a great team.
• Social time accounts for more than 50% of positive changes in communication patterns.
• One suggested way to choose lunch is to use collaborative tools so the majority can vote.
• Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Flow are given as an example for scheduling and voting on lunch choices.
• In small teams, shared lunch is easier to arrange; in larger groups, it needs a framework.
• Eating together can lead to open dialogue, informal talk, innovative ideas, and a stronger bond among coworkers.