By Hannah Waters,

Whether you agree or not, breakfast is commonly championed as the most important meal of the day. Yet, thanks to busy schedules, it’s often the first meal to be dropped(or at best rushed!) to make way for the morning commute, the school run or early meetings.

In fact, recent research found that as many as 1 in 5 British workers skip breakfast on a regular basis. Of course, this isn’t a healthy habit for the individuals themselves, but did you know it can also have a knock-on effect on business?

Holding team breakfasts is a great way to combat the problem. Here are five ways your business could benefit from introducing this into your office routine.

• It builds better relationships

Getting the team together to enjoy breakfast is a great way for co-workers to bond outside of the usual professional settings, such as in meetings and across desks. In turn, stronger relationships should form, which can improve cooperation and support among colleagues. You could even use the time to bring teams together who don’t usually have the chance to mix. Getting to know people from all around the business can help make a person feel more embedded in the company and more comfortable reaching out to people in other departments for collaboration or support.

• It encourages healthier habits

A healthy body equals a healthy mind, so a nutritious breakfast can go a long way. By encouraging your team to start their day with something nutritionally balanced, they’ll hopefully feel more energised and focused. Provide healthy, filling breakfast options that will fuel them throughout the day and stop them from reaching for unhealthy snacks later on. Not only will they be more productive thanks to it, but a healthy workforce takes less sick leave too.

• It contributes to a positive company culture

Everybody loves a work perk and offering benefits such as free breakfasts and social get-togethers can help create an enjoyable, inclusive and supportive culture within the company. These days, job seekers place more focus on the culture of a company than ever before, so introducing these small efforts into every day or week can actually have huge swaying power when attracting talent and retaining staff.

• It shows appreciation

Hard work deserves to be recognised, and showing appreciation is a great way to make your employees feel valued in their jobs. Treating the team to breakfast is a really easy, yet effective way of saying thank you for the effort they put in from day to day. You could even use the time to highlight any stand-out success stories or recent achievements.

• It gets the day off on a great note

Productivity is always better when spirits are high, so by getting the morning off to a great start, you can help to set the office tone. Not only will a tasty breakfast leave people feeling energised and satisfied, but the social interactions should have a mood-boosting effect too. So, everyone’s bound to begin their day with a spring in their step!