A new study suggests offering employees free food is an easy way to keep them happy and productive.
In a survey of 1,000 office employees conducted by Peapod, a grocery delivery company, only 16 percent of workers report having access to free food at work.
However, those who are offered snacks on the job report higher levels of job satisfaction than those who aren't.
While 56 percent of those polled overall reported being "extremely" or "very" happy at work, 67 percent of those at jobs with free food reported such levels of satisfaction.
Millennials were the most likely to cite free snacks as an important job perk. And workplaces that employ large numbers of millennials, such as startups, are more likely to have food on-site. For new economy companies that seek to make the workplace a home-away-from-home, where employees socialize as well as work, a well-stocked kitchen makes employees more appreciative of the office and pushes them to mingle over food with coworkers.