How breakroom TVs can boost employee morale and engagement

For grocery retailers, recruiting and maintaining top talent is more important than ever.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, food and beverage retailers added 15,000 jobs in January, nearly double the number the sector added in December 2020. And as retailers continue to see expanding sales and consumer demand increasing their labor needs, prioritizing employee retention is crucial to maintaining a staff of experienced employees and preventing the costs associated with hiring new talent.

Among the factors that improve job satisfaction for workers, company culture is high on the list. Employees want to feel connected with their coworkers, and for younger employees in particular, it’s a necessity. According to research from Robert Half, more than one-third of workers in the U.S. (35%) say they wouldn’t accept a job if they clashed with the company culture—even if the position was otherwise a great fit. And according to Technomic’s 2019 Hiring and Retention Strategies report, this is an even higher priority among younger employees: Among employees ages 18-34, a whopping 84% cite work culture and environment as a job priority.

Solutions in the breakroom 

Retailers can’t control every aspect of company culture from store to store, but creating a breakroom environment that encourages employees to socialize and decompress can be an effective strategy.

Breakroom TVs offer a great opportunity: Not only do they give employees a chance to relax while they take a break from work, but they also encourage socialization as workers can watch a program together and use it as a conversation starter.

Sports programming, for example, can help create rapport between employees who share it as an interest. Robert Half reports that 55% of employees ages 18-35 and 64% of male employees say they love keeping up with sports in the workplace and bonding with coworkers over them. Even more, playing sports broadcasts may help mitigate the amount of time employees spend checking scores during their shift.

What’s more, breakroom TVs aren’t a recreational tool alone; as more and more companies use video training courses for onboarding employees, TVs can be a great way of keeping employees engaged throughout the process.

The quality of workers’ TV experiences are, of course, dependent on the quality of the TV provider retailers choose to work with. Industry leader DIRECTV for BUSINESS offers premium service and reliable technologies, offering world-class entertainment solutions in a streamlined design. With hundreds of available channels, retailers can be sure to provide programming their employees will enjoy.

To learn more about how solutions from DIRECTV for BUSINESS can help boost employee morale, click here.