A Meeting of the Minds: Top Tips for Setting Up a Coffee Break Area in Your Office

Break rooms at the office can turn into a real mess if you aren’t careful: coffee cups strewn around, an over-filled garbage can, a lack of storage space for cups and dishes. And once that happens, no one wants to clean it up…

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Break rooms play an important role in the office and can help boost productivity and employee morale when they are a comforting space people can meet in. Talking shop over a cup of coffee can really go a long way in making the days at the office great. Here are a few tips to help create a nice coffee area in your office break room.

Coffee Coffee Coffee

There can really never be too much coffee in the break room. Depending on the size of your office, you can easily go through over 300 cups a week — that’s a lot!

Many people drink coffee throughout their day to stay alert and focused, so you must make sure that there is enough of a variety of coffee in the break room to satisfy everyone. There are hundreds of different favors nowadays, and while some people stick to their favorite, others like to change it up during the day or throughout the week.

You also need to figure out which type of coffee machine you want to have. You can always try the old-fashioned pot, but then someone needs to keep an eye on it through the day and everyone’s stuck drinking the same flavor. Coffee “pods” are a favorite option of many, where each person places a pod in a machine and gets one cup of coffee. Companies like Coffee Pod King have hindered a of varieties, so you can keep your break room stocked.

Coffee Cups

If you are fortunate enough to have a large break room, then you may allow people to store their own ceramic or glass coffee mugs there. Many break rooms, however, are limited on space and you may have to get creative.

You can have people who want their own mugs keep them in their respective offices in order to keep storage issues at a minimum. This way, storage will be freed up for the coffee pods and other supplies. Of course, you can always provide paper coffee cups: they stack easily and can be slid under cabinets and into nooks to save space. Many people do not like to use disposable cups as they create a lot of extra trash that can be avoided by using your own mugs from home. There are recyclable cups now, though, so it’s purely a personal preference.

The Refrigerator

Many people like to add milk or cream to their coffee, so a good refrigerator is important. But it would behoove you to set some ground rules when it comes to the appliance.

Refrigerators can become storage places for forgotten food and condiments, so someone should be in charge of maintaining it. Food should not be left in there for longer than a few days: this will prevent bad odors and free up space for other items. Although it may never be an issue (depending on how much coffee you go through), check the expiration date on milks and creamers every so often. If your office is like most others, you will be going through these items at a rapid pace, so you will have to purchase more every few days.

If odors and cleanliness do become an issue, then be sure to take care of it as quickly as possible.

Cleaning Supplies

The entire break room should be kept clean so people enjoy going in there and making their coffee. If there is a sink, do not let dishes pile up. The space beneath the sink also provides a great storage area for soaps and other cleaning supplies.

Have the essentials stocked at all times, like hand and dish soap, glass cleaner and even an all-purpose cleaner that people can find easily. Spills and stains will happen — especially if the space is small — so people will need to clean up after themselves more than you may think.

Also, have a trash can large enough to accommodate all of the waste. This will help prevent garbage overflows and give people incentive to throw away their trash after they are finished.

Coffee and break rooms are important to the way employees feel and function, so make it a great experience.