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Food Decision Making Change

Management puts out a spread of cookies and donuts every Friday. I have told my manager that it is not healthy to eat all this fat and sugar, and the company should put out fruits instead. My manager said this was tried in the past and the employees were not happy. What do you suggest?



Giving out cookies and donuts is sweet, possibly too sweet. There certainly is sufficient data to prove that consuming large amounts of foods that are high in sugar and fat is not healthy. However, no one is requiring employees to eat these sweets, and those who would like to limit the amount of such foods can do so by showing some restraint. The problem, of course, is that this is easier said (or written) than done.

Since management at your company tried giving out fruit in the past but found this to be a fruitless effort, perhaps a more balanced approach would work. For example, instead of going with cookies and donuts every Friday, perhaps some variety might help. Maybe there could be fruit on one of the Fridays, sugar-free (yet very tasty) treats on another Friday, low-calorie treats on another, and a mixture of all of these on yet another Friday.

It is actually surprising that more employees have not complained about having the same treat every Friday. After all, even the same cookies and donuts can get a little boring. If management wants employees to buy into a change in the treats, the best step is to solicit the employees’ input. Given the opportunity, employees can come up with palatable solutions to all sorts of problems.




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