December 2019
Featured in this insight: Public health & wellbeing
Survey sheds light on office brew-round etiquette: A survey of 2,000 UK workers has unveiled some interesting stats about their habits when it comes to hot drinks in the office.
It found that more than half of those polled (54%) believe that if they made themselves a cup of tea or coffee without offering one to colleagues this would be considered bad manners.
Younger people questioned appeared to be the most polite when it came to hot-drink etiquette with seven out of ten aged between 18-24 believing that not offering co-workers a brew was bad manners, compared to just 43% of workers aged 65 and over.
But how often do people offer to make a round of hot drinks?
Almost a quarter (24%) said they ask a colleague if they'd like a tea or a coffee at least once a day, while 22% said they offer once or twice a week. However, the majority said that they never offer to put the kettle on at all!
According to the poll, it's the younger employees (18-24 year-olds) who make the most drinks for colleagues, with more than a third claiming they make four our more rounds every day.
Who do workers offer to make tea for?
The survey found that more than a third (35%) offer to brew up for their work friends, while a quarter will just opt to offer their team or those sitting in the same working area as they are. Just over one in ten (11%) said when they make a hot drink, they'll offer to make the entire workplace one.
When asked about the reasons they refrain from getting involved in making a round of hot drinks for colleagues, almost a third (32%) said that you should never feel like you have to make a cup of tea or coffee for a coworker, while 22% said that as long as you yourself don't accept a hot drink from someone, you're okay not to make one for anyone else. If you're really busy at work, 16% said that this was a good enough reason just to make yourself a quick one and not extend the offer to anybody else.
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