Is coffee luring people back to work? Report reveals decisive insights

Coffee is rising to the challenge of keeping people connected during working hours, a Bloomberg report citing an Ipsos study found. The study reportedly analysed nearly 10 million mobile phones in over 5,000 coffee shops in New York city, which showed that only 12 per cent of visits to the coffee shops occurred during working hours.

"It’s hard to argue with the appeal of free coffee in the office given surging inflation," the report said.

Rising coffee consumption in spotlight

According to the International Coffee Organization, global green bean exports in November 2022 totaled 9.2 million bags, a 10.8 per cent increase from the same month in 2021.

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"Coffee consumption is rising while office use has halved in cities like New York compared to before the pandemic," the report adds.

The report cites evolution in the way new workplaces are designed to emulate the coffee house in-house, meant to reviveoffice camaraderie once people began returning to the offices as Covid cases plummeted worldwide.

Free coffee part of companies' plans to bring workers back to offices

To convince workers to leave the comfort of their homes as pandemic began easing and things went back to normalcy, one of the steps companies globally opted for was free coffee.

Workspace Group Plc, which provides flexible office space across central and suburban London, upgraded on-site cafes to keep a "social buzz" throughout its establishments.

"With more businesses returning to the office, our cafes are becoming increasingly important," Will Abbot, the firm’s chief customer officer, was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

Anecdotal evidence as well as the research data suggests that coffee consumption is linked to increased workplace collaboration.

According to the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), 67 per cent of workers enjoy a cup of coffee every day at work. The same study linked coffee consumption and workplace productivity. About 43 per cent of workers said that drinking coffee at work makes them more productive.

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