Food fight!

Rumor has it that the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is examining the tax-free status of the free lunches that many Silicon Valley companies provide to their employees.

Since it’s April 15—tax filing deadline day in the United States—it’s an appropriate time to address food at work, especially employer-provided provisions.

For those of us who believe that healthy workplaces promote productivity, food is an important ingredient (pun intended).

Yet, the IRS may be thinking otherwise. As the Wall Street Journal recently reported, the IRS policy wonks may view the free food as a fringe benefit, which is a taxable perk. This is similar to the personal use of a company car. Like most tax rules, those governing fringe benefits are complex.

Nonetheless, if the food becomes a taxable benefit under the federal tax code, employees who receive free lunches and snacks will face a significant increase in their W-2 taxable income, regardless of how much free food they eat.

There’s also the possibility that companies will discontinue the offering free meals, even though the food is a popular perk.

Although I tend to embrace change over the status quo, I’m dismayed by this possible turn of events. It’s like changing Grandma’s delicious, traditional and reliable brownie recipe for no good reason. 

Food makes work and the workplace better on a number of levels.

For example, think of all the ways that food helps people be more comfortable, creative and collaborative.

• Building rapport. Meals and snacks served at “meet and greet” functions help break the ice as they break bread. It’s more pleasant and less awkward to meet one another for the first time or reunite after an absence if you can share some cheese and crackers, drink some juice or eat lunch. You not only get to know one another informally, but you also can start to build a sense of community, especially if you’re trying to bust silos across functions, business units or geographies.

• Delivering fuel. Working lunches serve two functions simultaneously: refueling empty stomachs and nourishing individuals’ heads, hearts and hands while they chat. Also, free lunches can be a special treat when a team is tackling some hard issues or working through some challenging times. There’s something nurturing about being fed. And while multi-tasking gets a bad rap, discussing work issues while you eat is good use of time in the moment and longer term, for helping create greater team cohesion.

• Celebrating. Cakes, cookies, cupcakes, fruit and other goodies are a natural for people to enjoy together. You can stop and eat for any occasion: a pause to refresh, a time out to appreciate each other or an occasion to acknowledge reaching a project milestone or a personal or team success. Food helps commemorate events.

Yes, food is an extra cost if free lunches, snacks and other chow are not part of your organization’s daily routine, budget and culture.

But in the whole scheme of things, food is a low-cost way to improve people’s mood, energy and productivity.

Food also is a low-cost way to mitigate risk. Just think about the problems you can encounter when you have implementation team members who become cranky, argumentative and stubborn when they get hungry.

Now, I have to admit I have a bias for free food at work. My first employer was Hewitt Associates (now Aon Hewitt). Our lunch period was 30-minutes, but we could eat all we wanted free of charge. I still remember some fun conversations.

Beverages and snacks are also a vital supply for training sessions and focus groups. They’re a draw for participants (yes, a low-cost bribe). Plus, participants’ behavior changes once they start eating and drinking. They relax and then become more animated and open.

Recently, I was conducting a series of training sessions in different offices for the same organization. About half of the sessions featured food. At the every session, I did a “Plus/Delta” debrief in which I asked people what worked well and what should I do differently next time. Food was always one of the first three things mentioned—a “plus” if was there and a “delta” if it weren’t.

No food doesn’t mean it’s a recipe for disaster. But having food certainly makes the workplace more civilized.

Will this IRS even consider this as food for thought? If not, do you have the stomach to fight?