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In the workplace, cultivating a team that works hard and successfully each day is a crucial issue that concerns companies of every size and industry. After all, if your employees aren’t actively engaged in their roles each day, your product and the reputation of your company will suffer. The challenge comes in finding how to boost employee energy and enthusiasm for their jobs.

Many studies are being conducted on this topic, and there are many possible solutions offered, but one of the simplest to understand and put into action is changing the types of snacks being offered to your team. The vending machine is a common destination for employees who are taking a quick break from their desk, and finding healthy snack options there could be just the thing they need to fuel their fire and improve their work.

Lack of engagement and energy is sapping your productivity

To have the most productive team possible, every member needs to be fully engaged in their roles throughout the company, and energized to perform their work as each day goes on. Unfortunately, a lack of engagement and energy in the workplace is becoming a serious problem that employers are struggling to fight. Statistics from Gallup.com show that nearly 70 percent of employees in the U.S. are not actively engaged in their jobs.

This means that a large majority of your employees are most likely dragging through the workday as an unpleasant obligation, counting down the minutes until they can clock out and leave. They come to work tired, they perform the bare minimum, exert little energy or effort, and then they flee at the end of the day, dreading clocking back in tomorrow. What’s the problem? Where did all the positive, productive energy go? The answer may lie in the company vending machine choices.

Employees are suffering from a lack of healthy snack options

When a lack of energy is the problem, one of the first places you should look is diet. The type of food people are consuming to fuel their bodies makes all the difference in the amount of energy, concentration, and cognitive ability they will bring to their activities throughout the workday. It’s tough to know what your employees are eating at home, but a good way to see what they are eating at work is to look to your own vending machine selection.

The average vending machine is not likely to be a source of healthy fuel to boost employee productivity. This is because the average vending machine supplier is likely to be more concerned with providing cheap snacks that are so full of preservatives that they can sit on the shelf for a disconcertingly long time. These unhealthy options are likely very high in sugar and fat, which is not a good combination for a well-fueled worker.

Foods that are high in fat take longer to digest, meaning the potential energy there isn’t very accessible. Snacks full of sugar will provide a quick burst of energy, however sugar burns away quickly and leaves a person with an energy crash. They end up feeling just as tired as they did before eating their sugary snack, if not more so, which is a serious productivity killer. If you have vending machines full of snacks that are high in sugar and unhealthy fats, this may be the culprit for your tired, unengaged team.

Boost energy and engagement with healthy snack options

The fastest way to solve this snack problem that is sapping the energy out of your employees and the productivity out of your company is to change the selection offered in every vending machine. Instead of the highly processed, sugary, and fatty snacks that are dragging people down, you should opt for healthier snack options that will provide optimal fuel for your team. A vending machine full of fresh, healthy food will not only improve the energy of your employees, but also their health.

There are many different snack options out there that are healthy, delicious and great for productivity. You want to offer options that are great for providing long term energy, fighting crashes, improving mental abilities and keeping people focused. These include whole grains, healthy fats and lean proteins. The right combination of these important ingredients will have employees thinking clearly and full of the energy they need to succeed.

Whole grains are better than the refined grains in most unhealthy snacks because they take longer to digest, which provides stable energy levels without an afternoon carb crash. These can include whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, brown rice and popcorn. Protein builds and repairs tissues as they are broken down by use during the day, and without it energy can begin to fail. Lean meat, beans, eggs, nuts, and seeds are excellent sources of lean protein.

Fat is always made out to be the bad guy in the diet, but it’s all about the kind of fat being consumed. Unsaturated fat is good for your body, and can help lower cholesterol and provide healthy energy. This fat can be consumed in foods like nuts, seeds, peanut butter, olive oil and avocados. Saturated fat is the kind that should be avoided, because it can raise bad cholesterol if too much is consumed. Unfortunately, many unhealthy snacks in vending machines today are full of saturated fats.

Healthy snack options in your vending machine will make a difference

The mistake many people make is thinking that healthy snack options can’t be effectively stored and distributed in a vending machine. With the right supplier and equipment, there is no reason why you couldn’t offer fresh, healthy snacks instead of the usual sugary, fatty options. Vending machines can provide fresh salads, whole grains, and, healthy fats just as easily as they can shell out bags of chips and cans of soda. All you need to boost the health and productivity of your employees is the right vending partner to help you on your way.