06 Feb Make your Breakroom an Employee Wellness Zone
We’ve come a long way, baby! What started as an impromptu gathering around the hallway water cooler has evolved into a scheduled “time out” in a well-designed breakroom. And now, breakrooms are going to the next level by developing Wellness Zones within them to cater to their employee needs.
Yes, the breakroom is stepping up to provide a healthier place to relax, recharge, spark creativity, and promote wellness. When Coolbreakrooms breaks it down, we see a Wellness Zone within the breakroom space. Then we see multiple zones within it. Let’s map it out.
Healthy Food Zone
A Coolbreakroom starts with delicious food and drink. First, we had the water cooler. Then, we added the coffee machine. Now, we have a variety of snacks, cold beverages, gourmet Coffee and cold brew, tea, salads, water, and fresh foods. Within that variety, there should be a balanced selection of healthy options. Today, healthy has many definitions. What means “healthy” to one person may not mean healthy to another. Let’s highlight a few key categories to consider representing in your Healthy Food Zone:
- Gluten-Free
- Dairy Free
- Organic
- Paleo
- Keto
- Vegan
- All Natural
- Nut Free
Proper nourishment helps to keep us energized and ready to tackle whatever comes our way. That is why a Healthy Food Zone is a top priority in your breakroom.
Quiet Zone
A Quiet Zone before a game zone? We need both! However, a Quiet Zone is essential for many to allow themselves to destress and focus. Your Quiet Zone should have softer, indirect lighting and comfortable, relaxed seating. Consider adding sensory items to your Quiet Zone like stress balls, fidget toys, or scented candles. Your Quiet Zone can promote mindfulness, meditation, and relaxation. This zone will help your team refresh and improve their mindset. We’re closing our eyes and getting pretty Zen right now just thinking about it.
Game Zone
Create a well-rounded employee Wellness Zone by including a Game Zone. Provide your team the opportunity to laugh, compete, burn energy, and get some healthy movement going while fostering teamwork and positive relationships. We’re breaking the Game Zone down into 2 areas:
More Active
- Ping Pong (Not beer pong – although it’s 5:00 somewhere)
- Retro Arcade Games
- Virtual Reality Game Station
- Air Hockey
- Foosball
- Video Games
- Basketball Hoop (Neil Swindale, Coolbreakrooms founder, would live here)
Less Active (but equally fun)
- Magnetic Puzzle Wall
- Board Games (who doesn’t love a good game of Wits & Wagers?)
- Jenga
- Doodle Wall (we love to doodle!)
We can’t tell you how many great ideas have come from hanging together in the Game Zone. Make sure to ask your team what games they want in their Game Zone. If it’s cool and different, please share your ideas with us!
Social Gathering Zone
This is where we connect. Bring your nourishment from the Healthy Food Zone and let’s talk. Yes, talk together. What makes each person tick? What are our interests and goals? How about movies, TV shows, music, and books we’ve been loving lately? What was fun about the weekend? Here are some suggestions for making your Social Gathering Zone a zone people will want to hang in:
- An assortment of comfortable seating, including couches
- High-top tables or islands, large circular tables, and even cozy booths
- Great colors (Save the neutral tones for the quiet zone)
- Plants, artwork, and other areas of visual interest
- We love our tunes, so some cool music is a must
- Hydration stations throughout. We want to be able to keep the conversation going without having to go far for more water. This includes sparkling, still, and flavored water. Bevi’s all around!
The Social Gathering Zone is the go-to zone for conversation, refreshments, meetings, and social interaction. We missed ALL of this during the pandemic. Virtual just isn’t the same.
What else? More zones, of course!
If you are looking for more ideas for zones we’ve got you covered! These next zones would also be great add-ons to your Wellness Zone.
- Event Zone – Larger spaces where company meetings and parties can occur.
- Arts & Craft Zone – Let’s put some space aside for a little art therapy and the DIY crafties
- Book Zone – A lending and sharing library for everyone to enjoy
- Yoga and Stretching Zone – A space to lay a yoga mat and work out the kinks.
Workplace wellness is a growing focus that has been overlooked for too long. We want to make the most of having our team together at the workplace and give them an environment to help them thrive, both at work and at home. Please reach out to us so that we can collaborate on maximizing your workplace wellness with a Coolbreakroom.