Designing an Office Break Room? Focus on the Basics

Here’s a riddle for you: I have the power to make your employees more productive, less stressed, and happier with their work. What am I? 

If you guessed “the office break room”—maybe because the title of this article gave it away—then you’re right! A 2023 survey of 10,000 workers found that people who take breaks during the workday are: 

• 62% happier with their work-life balance
• 43% more successful at managing stress
• 43% more satisfied with their work environment
• 13% more productive

To encourage those breaks and get those benefits, you need a break room that beckons workers away from their desks. Luckily, creating one is pretty simple. We spoke to two pros, each with more than a decade of experience in the break room supply industry, and they told us you can build a great office break room in just four steps. 

Step 1: Let the Light In

Debbie Gown works as a business development manager for The FruitGuys and visits dozens of corporate break rooms every year to talk about farm-fresh fruit and snack delivery. “The best break rooms,” she said, “are the ones that feel spacious and airy, with plenty of natural light.”

Workers agree. According to a poll of more than 1,600 employees, “access to natural light and views of the outdoors” is the No. 1 perk an office can offer. 

Windows, skylights, and glass doors are great ways to bring sunshine into the break room. If natural light isn’t an option, try using artificial lighting with a color temperature that mimics the light outdoors (you can find one lighting company’s recommendation here). 

Step 2: Supply the Snacks

Studies show that eating at work helps employees feel more energized, focused, and productive. Snacks like fresh fruit, protein bars, and either beef or plant-based jerky don’t need to be refrigerated, but they can still entice workers and encourage them to relax and connect. 

“The break room should be a space where employees can come together to have casual conversations. Food does that: It creates an environment where people want to connect and take a break,” Gown said. 

According to Gown, the best break rooms feel like homes: part living room, part well-stocked kitchen. The food should be free, plentiful, and arranged in drawers or enticing displays. Just try to avoid making things too organized—an overly tidy space can lose its inviting atmosphere and start to feel more like a store. 

“Many of the break rooms I see have moved away from vending machines. Now everything is offered for free, just like it would be in someone’s home,” Gown said. “Companies should also take note of people that have different food needs, allergies, or preferences. The right office break room offers something for everybody.” 

Step 3: Deliver the Drinks 

Office water coolers have long been a go-to place for employees to gather, so it’s no surprise beverages are still a break room essential. 

“Companies are recognizing the impact of innovative coffee and water equipment,” said Daniel Kim, an enterprise account executive at the Smart Water Cooler designer Bevi. “These solutions are no longer just a perk—they’re a key driver of employee health and a reduced environmental footprint.” 

Kim has more than eleven years of experience in the beverage space, so he knows what workers look for. He recommends offices start with foundational drinks like water and coffee. Then, consider bonus beverages like sparkling water, hot chocolate, kombucha, cold brew, and more. 

You can reduce waste and clutter by swapping in a water dispenser and large drip coffee or espresso machine for single-use bottles and pods. Some water dispensers, like the standing and countertop models from Bevi, can even eliminate the need for regular bottled water and  other bottled and canned beverages like seltzer, energy drinks, and flavored waters. 

Employees can add flavors and “enhancements,” like vitamins and electrolytes, into their water with a quick tap on the dispenser’s screen. They can also change the water temperature and carbonate their beverage.

According to The Mayo Clinic, “even mild dehydration can drain your energy and make you tired,” so giving your team plenty of ways to hydrate is important for their health and their productivity. 

Step 4: Create Places to Gather

Great break rooms are comfortable places. They have booths, cafe-style tables, and other furniture arrangements that invite employees to sit and relax with their coworkers. 

“I’ve seen a wide variety of seating arrangements in the break rooms I’ve visited. Some of them reflect a late-night lounge and others offer various swivel chairs, loveseats, and tables,” Gown said. 

A smart office break room design can encourage collaboration and even friendship between coworkers. That’s a win-win because when coworkers become friends, they’re more likely to see both personal and professional growth. A 2022 report from BetterUp found that more than half of employees want to build more connections at work, and almost 70% want more opportunities to make those connections. Creating those opportunities starts with something as easy as buying a table and chairs!

The Final Result

Ultimately, when it comes to building a great break room, Kim finds that less is more. 

“A functional breakroom with the essentials—a reliable coffee maker and a water dispenser, alongside a couple of popular snacks, whether fruits or protein bars—goes a long way. It’s really all you need. These couple staples provide an escape for employees without too much clutter in the space,” he said. 

Of course, if you have the budget and office space, you can still take your break room one step further. Here are a few ways to make it an even more relaxing, entertaining, and functional space. 

More Office Break Room Ideas

Go for Greenery

Indoor plants have a surprising number of health benefits, and they’re easy to incorporate into the break room. You can start small with tabletop plants, or get creative with a plant wall or art pieces made out of moss. 

Add Entertainment 

“Just last week, I walked into a break room where two colleagues were standing next to a sofa, playing Super Mario on a TV screen,” Gown recalled.

You can bring fun into your office break room with gaming consoles, foosball or air hockey tables, or even TVs displaying company updates and reminding employees of upcoming events. At Bevi headquarters, a TV displays a live count of single-use bottles saved by Bevi machines worldwide. Watching this number climb—over 500 million since the company’s inception—motivates employees and reinforces the company’s mission as they grab a snack.

Offer Appliances and Utensils 

You can make your break room feel even more like a second home with a fridge, blender, toaster, and utensils for cooking and eating. This will empower your team to make exactly what they’re craving. You’ll also get the opportunity to offer more healthy snack choices, like pre-cut veggies, string cheese, hard boiled eggs, and hummus packets that need to be refrigerated. 

Create Opportunities for Movement & Connection 

Last but not least, you can turn your office break room into a kind of playground or event space. 

“Coffee and snack tastings turn break rooms into fun, collaborative escapes. They give employees a medium to provide feedback and act as a fun way for HR to conduct a survey of which drinks and snacks their team likes best,” Kim said. 

The FruitGuys often hosts fruit and snack tastings for its clients, and Gown has seen companies brainstorm other ways to build connections, too. One break room she visited had an Airstream trailer parked inside dispensing drinks for an office happy hour. Another featured a multi-story slide that let workers play like kids again. 

“A break room should be a place where you can either move your body or relax your body,” she said. “It should be somewhere that you can take a real break.”