“Not bad for a coffee break,” Haffernan concludes. As an experiment, he recommended they have everyone take a coffee break at the same time, and this small shift led to $15 million in productivity gains, and a 10 percent boost in employee satisfaction. In her book Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes, author Margaret Heffernan shares the story of a researcher studying communication patterns at a call center. Encouraging Employee EngagementĪ fika-style ritual gives employees something to look forward to it gives them permission to truly disconnect for a few minutes, get to know coworkers, and fuel themselves with a special treat. Boosting Energy & Creativityīy imposing a brief change of location - away from your station/computer - and letting you come back to your work refreshed, fika can help energize employees. Reducing Silos/Hierarchyįika helps foster company-wide engagement by introducing colleagues from different teams and levels of seniority. Avoiding Confusion & BureaucracyĪs the IKEA website puts it: “Why over-complicate things? Spend a few minutes together, say what you have to say. Building Trustįika promotes trust through face-to-face connection and communication. 5 Ways Fika Can Improve Your Workplace Culture: 1. Talking about your families, vacation plans, or whatever.” As she explains, the simple act of taking this time out with colleagues can change the way you interact with team members throughout the day. “Because you’re getting to know your co-workers a little bit. “I feel like really helps the work environment,” Pålsson says. “It was a big part of the work culture, because we knew every Thursday we were going to take fika.” Other businesses take a “BYO” approach, with employees taking turns and bringing in home baked goods or other items to share at fika time. One Swedish company where Pålsson worked would observe a special fika once a week, visiting a local bakery. “It’s kind of implemented throughout your whole life,” Pålsson says, so it’s hardly surprising that fika would be an important part of workplace culture. Pålsson explains that in Sweden the custom starts as early as primary school, when children have “fika time.” It’s a very different approach to how many American workers take their breaks: ducking outside to scroll on smart phones, or hunkered over their desks, eating and working at the same time. There are no rules of how to do it,” she says. “You’re usually having a coffee with something sweet-it could be an apple, or a piece of cake. Regardless of when or where it happens, the key element is being present and paying attention to the people around you. Why not just get together with co-workers and figure things out?”Īnna Pålsson, a marketing intern at the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia, told The FruitGuys Magazine that fika has a big impact on workplace culture even though it is “a simple thing … you’re sitting down, you’re talking, and you’re talking a little break.” You’ll find it’s also a chance to get things done quickly and simply – without booking a conference room, drawing up an agenda or creating a slide presentation. They describe fika as a custom that lends itself well to the workplace: “A traditional Swedish coffee break in the day where you pause, reflect and reconnect. Home goods retailer IKEA is among the most recognized Swedish brands around the world. But there’s growing evidence that taking breaks - especially proactive, scheduled breaks - can actually boost employee productivity, creativity, and engagement. It may sound counterintuitive to Americans that pausing the flow of work would make good business sense. Many Swedish companies observe fika twice a day at set times, typically for about 20 minutes. It’s an established workplace social experience, a state of mind, and an important aspect of Swedish culture that very much reflects their balanced approach to life. Pronounced fee-ka, it roughly translates as “coffee and cake break”-but Swedes will tell you the concept of fika encompasses far more than that. You may also have experienced the Swedish ritual of fika: relaxing with a cup of coffee and something sweet. If you’ve ever been to Sweden, you know how serious their coffee culture is.
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