Raise your mugs in praise (Editorial, August 12, 2002)

This summer, the space shuttle Endeavour docked at the international space station, picked up three astronauts who had spent 196 days circling the Earth and headed for home.

But two attempts to land the craft over two days were thwarted by storms and Endeavour was unable to return on schedule. The shuttle had enough fuel and supplies to remain in orbit for a few more days, but one necessity was running low.

Shuttle commander Kenneth Cockrell was concerned that there was no more coffee onboard. He jokingly (we think) asked Mission Control if he could return to the space station for the coffee he had left there, but the request was denied.

“Okay, we thought we’d ask anyway,” Cockrell replied.

Such is the importance of the ground bean so many of us depend upon.

There is no denying coffee’s exalted role — indeed for millions of Canadians beginning the day without it is unthinkable. Fortunes have been built supplying the bean and merchants compete fiercely for the attention of the coffee drinker. In workplaces from coast to coast, brewing a pot to start the morning is often the first priority after unlocking the front door.

Whether you’re a part-time student or a senior executive, when it comes to enhancing productivity, caffeine has carved out a special niche that few, in any, HR initiatives can hope to match. Beware the employer that ignores workers’ coffee needs.

I once worked in such a place and — contrary to Canadian HR Reporter’s Web editor who asserts we’d all be better off with a fridge stocked with fruit juices — no one should be forced to toil in a coffeeless environment. It’s inconceivable that legislators haven’t already written this into labour codes.

Not only does the coffeeless workplace forgo the productivity boost caffeine supplies, but there is a reverse effect at work as well. Employees can tolerate any number of employer-generated annoyances, stresses and counter-productive policies, but no one will put up with coffee deprivation.

What the coffeeless workplace creates is a stream of employees trekking to the nearest café, donut shop, specialty store or greasy spoon in search of caffeine in a cup.

Expeditions are launched on a regular basis, with employees bringing back as many coffees as they can carry to aid eagerly awaiting co-workers. All this adds up to a lot of time away from work running coffee errands.

HR management courses need to start putting coffee awareness on course agendas. As HR expands its role and moves to a value-added business partner, what prouder boast is there than being the person responsible for running an efficient coffee-dispensing operation? It doesn’t have to be a sophisticated machine that offers differing strengths, decaf, tea and even hot chocolate. You don’t need a coffee-maker on every desk. A kettle and a jar of instant is enough to show you care, and improve retention rates.

As for the fruit juice lovers, they’ll just have to fend for themselves.

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