Espresso machines cut break times
Thursday, November 29th, 2007
The Sunday Telegraph,
By Miawling Lam
The humble cappuccino has joined the cigarette and the Internet as the latest threat to workplace productivity.
Coffee runs have become the new smoko and businesses have become so fed up with workers leaving their desks in search of a caffeine fix that many are now paying for professional coffee machines to be installed on-site.
Shelling out $6000 for an espresso machine is worth it because it keeps employees in the building, keeps them motivated and cuts down on break time, employers argue.
Mitsubishi Sydney City, Hawkesbury Valley Holden, Babcock & Brown, global business and technology services company EDS and international shipping firm Maersk are among leading firms that have recently bought coffee machines for staff.
Adam Symon is the director at Bravo Repair Centre and maintains and fixes hundreds of machines each week.
“We’ve really noticed that, percentage-wise, the number of companies who are dealing with machines has tripled over the last six months,”
he said.
“A lot of money is being spent on these coffee machines. The more serious companies are even getting them plumbed into the water system.”
Mr Symon estimates that in a standard office of 300 staff, workers were grinding their way through 15kg of coffee beans each week, enough to make around 1800 standard cups.
He adds that considering the time lost when staff walks to the cafe, line up and waits for their individual brews to be made, the initial outlay on machines for companies is next to nothing.
“Over the life of the machine, it pays for itself in terms of productivity and staff happiness,” he said.
“It’s a major thing for staff to be able to come in to work and grab their coffee in the morning. They tend to be more relaxed and get stuck into their work more.”
A 2005 study conducted by human resources firm Talent2 found coffee drinkers were costing Australian businesses more than $1.8 billion in lost productivity each year.
Of the 700 surveyed, more than half estimated each trip to the barista took less than 10 minutes, while seven per cent said it took 20 minutes
or more.
Marion Levitt, director of Nimue Skin Technology, says she bought a Saeco Magic De Luxe coffee machine, valued at $999, for her 14 workers late last year.
Although she admits it was primarily bought to save her employees money, she has now noticed that nobody leaves the office unless it’s their lunch break.
“We had a coffee van that used to come around and everybody would leave at once to go down,” she said.
“It would end up being a 15- to 30-minute procedure because the queue was that long. Now with the machine, everybody’s using it and it creates a sense of togetherness.”
A HARDWARE store seeking new staff asked job applicants to dance to the Jackson Five’s Blame It On The Boogie before answering formal questions during a job interview. 
1. The people you work with
GOING to happy hour with your colleagues is a great way to get to know each other. But be careful how much you indulge.