The Refrigerator: A Source of Workplace Stress

Provided by BenefitsNext.com

Once reserved for the executive suite, refrigerators in the general workplace are fairly common these days. That brings good news and bad news.

The good news is that refrigerators allow employees to:

• Bring a wider selection of food than might otherwise be practical
• Save money that would be spent eating out
• Manage special dietary and/or health requirements (such as for those employees with diabetes) better

The bad news is that workplace refrigerators can be the source of incredible stress and kitchen/lunchroom/desk rage. Some of the more–common situations that start temperatures rising include:

• Forgotten food that is left to rot
• Dishes unclaimed and/or left dirty in the vicinity
• Spilled food, drinks, and condiments
• Food wrappings and paper towels strewn about the area
• Stolen food and drinks
• No regular refrigerator cleaning
• Signs posted by employees chastising the poor conditions

Along with other less visible stresses encountered during the course of the business day, experts say it's amazing how quickly these things can create a crisis environment. However, there is hope.

Cooling ideas

If refrigerator rage is an annoying problem at your place, here are a few cool ideas you can use.

• Establish, communicate, and enforce a policy. Include specific rules, duties, and deadlines.
• Identify and empower fridge/kitchen/lunchroom squads. Rotate groups of employees to share inspection, cleaning, and disposal decision duties or just inform employees that the cleaning staff will thoroughly clean the entire area (including the fridge) every Friday.
• Post formal basic rule reminders. Company rule reminders, tied to policy, are more effective than employee–generated rage postings. Rule reminders might include requiring owners to label and date foods placed in the refrigerator, specifying when food will be disposed of and indicating a regular cleaning schedule.

Surprisingly, these simple steps could help reduce stress in your organization (and help everyone cool off a bit).

Article by Linda Trainor, Contributing Editor, Best Practices in HR
This article is provided by BenefitsNext.com. Visit BenefitsNext for plain–English compliance information, work–saving forms and checklists, daily news, and free weekly E–Zine. Copyright 2002, BLR Inc.

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