For businesses that are contemplating the use of food and drink vending machines in their premises, or those that are reluctant to do so, might be interested to know that these machines can serve another important purpose, besides serving food and drinks. It might seem a bit unlikely, but as Martin Atkinson writes in the HRZone, " Installing vending machines will improve productivity by reducing the amount of people leaving the building for lunch and taking extended lunch breaks."

Sure, there is case for a valid opposing argument as well---it is likely that a vending machine may see more people take more breaks more often and thus affecting productivity. However, if we were to take a more optimistic view of things and repose greater faith in employees, the counter-argument could be that the time spent near the vending machine will be productive with informal interaction between team members leading to a stimulation of ideas on addressing key challenges when they return to their desks. Also remember that vending machines are not dispensing drinks for free--- so that in itself can act as a deterrent to employees who are likely to misuse the freedom they get from having a vending machine in their premises.

So, the tip of the day for businesses striving hard to push up their productivity levels- get a vending machine installed!