Is Your Office Coffee A Productivity Problem ?

#productivity

The Daily Coffee Tax

There was a time when my mornings followed the same frustrating routine. I’d walk into the office and mentally prepare myself for the diesel I was about to gulp down. I’d stand in front of the coffee machine, stare at the button labeled "coffee," and wonder how something so simple could go so wrong.

Some days, I’d force myself to drink whatever came out of it. Other days, I knew I wasn’t emotionally strong enough.

So, I’d take a walk to Costa Coffee (which, by the way, is better than Starbucks, and I will fight you on this).

After the 10-minute walk there, I’d wait in line for 10 minutes, finally get a proper coffee, and make my way back to the office. The whole affair took 30 minutes.

30 minutes I didn’t have.

Multiply that by dozens (or hundreds) of employees every day, and the cost becomes undeniable. So I made my case to the CEO: bad office coffee wasn’t just annoying—it was expensive.

To my surprise, they listened. A better machine, better beans, and a small investment later, and suddenly, the office coffee was actually worth drinking.

No more midday coffee runs. No more wasted time. Just good coffee, in-house, whenever we needed it.

The Hidden Cost of Bad Coffee

Bad coffee directly affects workplace productivity because it encourages employees to leave the office in search of something better.

• A coffee run takes 15–20 minutes per trip1.
• If an employee does this three times a week, that adds up to 10+ hours of lost productivity per month—per person.

Now, consider an office with 50 employees. That’s 500 lost hours per month.

This is why upgrading office coffee isn’t an expense—it’s an investment in productivity.

A high-end espresso machine (€3,000–€10,000) or a switch to higher-quality beans costs far less than the wasted salary spent on coffee runs.

The Impact of Better Coffee Beans

If upgrading the machine isn’t an option, switching to better beans is the easiest and most cost-effective way to improve office coffee.

Coffee expert **James Hoffmann** emphasizes that bean quality, freshness, and origin have a bigger impact on taste than most people realize. Simply switching to high-quality, freshly roasted beans can improve the flavor of office coffee even if the machine stays the same.

A study on ResearchGate found that specialty coffee enhances workplace happiness, engagement, and overall satisfaction2. Employees perceive high-quality coffee as a small but meaningful perk, reducing the need to step out for a better option.

Better beans are low-cost, high-reward—a simple upgrade that delivers immediate results.

Coffee and Workplace Satisfaction

A Harvard Business Review study found that small, daily workplace experiences have a bigger impact on job satisfaction than large, one-time perks3.

This means that while an annual company retreat might be nice, high-quality coffee is something employees appreciate every single day.

A well-designed coffee area also encourages casual interactions between employees, fostering collaboration and strengthening workplace culture.

Companies often focus on optimizing desks, lighting, and meeting rooms but ignore one of the most-used spaces in the office—the coffee station.

What If You Had a Barista in Your Office?

Imagine walking into work and having a full-time barista making espresso, cappuccinos, and maybe even a half-decent croissant.

That’s not happening.

But what can be done to make things even a little bit better?

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Simple Ways to Upgrade Office Coffee

A better coffee setup doesn’t have to mean hiring a barista. Here’s how to improve office coffee without breaking the budget:

1. Upgrade the Coffee Machine – A better machine produces better coffee, reducing the need for off-site runs.
2. Buy Better Beans – Fresh, high-quality beans make a bigger difference than most people realize.
3. Set Up a Real Coffee Station – A dedicated space with a grinder, milk frother, and better supplies makes the experience more enjoyable.

This isn’t about “spoiling” employees—it’s about removing unnecessary friction from the workday. If companies invest in better chairs, lighting, and wellness programs, why not invest in something employees interact with multiple times a day?

Upgrading office coffee is an easy, high-impact change that benefits both employees and the business.

Lester

P.S. Yes, Scientists Have Actually Studied This

Believe it or not, researchers have spent time and resources studying the impact of coffee quality on employee satisfaction.

A study by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee found that better coffee leads to increased productivity and morale4. Another paper, Maximizing Workplace Efficiency and Collaboration: The Impact of Coffee Breaks on Productivity and Team Dynamics, concluded that specialty coffee makes employees happier, more engaged, and more likely to stay in the office5.

If only scientists had more important things to study—like curing diseases, solving climate change, or figuring out why office printers still jam despite decades of technological progress.

But at least now, we have scientific proof that bad coffee is a workplace problem worth fixing.

Footnotes

1: Starbucks Consumer Study (2021). Average Wait Times and Customer Service Metrics.

2: Maximizing Workplace Efficiency and Collaboration: The Impact of Coffee Breaks on Productivity and Team Dynamics, ResearchGate, 2023.

3: Pentland, A. (2012). The New Science of Building Great Teams. Harvard Business Review.

4: Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (2022). The Impact of Coffee on Workplace Productivity and Employee Satisfaction.

5: Nestlé Professional (2022). How Coffee Can Boost Employee Productivity and Morale.