A survey of European workers has revealed that workplace coffee drinking habits are shaped by time, taste, and the desire for a productivity boost.
The survey, commissioned by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) and conducted by YouGov, had over 8,000 respondents from six European countries, including the UK. Workers were asked about their coffee consumption during the working day to understand when and why they chose to drink coffee, and whether they felt it was linked to productivity.
Across all countries, 68% of respondents said they always or often drink coffee during the working day. The top reasons for drinking coffee during work were: liking the taste (56%); to have time to pause and rest while drinking or preparing coffee (40%); and to feel more alert or less tired (both 29%).
However, just over a quarter (29%) said that they didn't drink coffee because they didn't have time or were too busy to drink coffee at work. Given that those who drank coffee did so for pleasure, relaxation, or to feel more alert, this could be an indication that some people are missing out on these elements because of their workload. In total, around one in ten respondents (11%) said they never took a short break at work to eat or drink something during the working day.
Across every country ISIC surveyed, on average, coffee was the drink most closely associated with productivity, with 43% saying it improved their productivity over other caffeinated and non-caffeinated options. Overall, 63% of respondents selected short breaks as being most likely to improve their work productivity. Across all countries, 56% said they take 1-2 short breaks per day to have something to eat or drink; while almost a quarter (23%) said they take 3-4 short snack/drink breaks.
Those who drink coffee during working hours are most likely to drink coffee between 9-11am (59%) - with the exception of Finland, where workers prefer to drink coffee between 1-3pm (57%). Across all countries surveyed, however, there was a clear pattern of coffee consumption: peaking in the morning, with a slight rise at lunchtime (1-3pm), and then becoming increasingly lower during the rest of the afternoon.
A significant proportion (56%) of people who drank coffee on their commute to work said that it helped wake them up, and over a third (36%) said it helped them feel more alert. There is a recognised scientific connection between caffeine and performance: the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has stated that a cause and effect relationship between improved alertness and attention and 75mg caffeine (the amount in a regular cup of coffee) had been established1.
ISIC hosted a roundtable discussion into the survey findings, with panellists Peter Rogers, Professor of Biological Psychology, University of Bristol, UK; and Keith Wesnes, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Exeter, UK. The roundtable report, with additional comment from Dr James Chandler, policy analyst at the Work Foundation, can be read here.
Roel Vaessen, Secretary General of ISIC, said: "Coffee's often associated with the workplace, whether that's in an office setting or on the factory floor. We wanted to understand more about workers' relationship with coffee, given that there is some very interesting scientific research looking at the associations between caffeine, cognitive function, alertness and concentration2-10."
ISIC's survey results include some potentially interesting implications for workplace productivity. OECD data has shown that longer hours are not correlated with improved productivity11, hence the number of survey respondents who claim they have no time for a break or a coffee may actually be less productive than their peers.
Dr James Chandler, policy analyst at the Work Foundation, said: "ISIC's survey results have some interesting implications for workplace wellbeing. For example, the fact that that nearly a third of those surveyed cannot find time for a short break could indicate that they have little job control, placing them under stress."
Dr Chandler continued: "Across Europe, health problems within the working population is a growing problem, due, in part, to an ageing demographic. The body of scientific research surrounding caffeine consumption and health outcomes such as reduced risk of type 2 diabetes is worth exploring as employers look for ways of keeping people in work, healthy, for longer2,12-13."
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Notes to editors
The ISIC roundtable report, 'The Good Things in Life: Coffee in the Workplace', can be read here.
Survey parameters
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The total sample size was 8,214 adults, across six European markets (Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK), of which 4,534 were working (full or part-time) The figures have been weighted and are representative of all of each country's adults (aged 18+). The research was conducted online by YouGov between 15 -22May 2017.
References
1. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA) (2011) Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to caffeine and increased fat oxidation leading to a reduction in body fat mass (ID 735, 1484), increased energy expenditure leading to a reduction in body weight (ID 1487), increased alertness (ID 736, 1101, 1187, 1485, 1491, 2063, 2103) and increased attention (ID 736, 1485, 1491, 2375) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/20061. EFSA Journal, 9(4):2054
2. Nehlig A. (2016) Effects of coffee/caffeine on brain health and disease: What should I tell my patients? Pract Neurol, 16(2):89-95.
3. Nehlig A. (2010) Is Caffeine a Cognitive Enhancer? J Alzheimers Dis, 20(S1):85-94.
4. Smit H.R. and Rogers P.J. (2000) Effects of low doses of caffeine on cognitive performance, mood and thirst in low and higher caffeine consumers. Psychophymacol, 152:167-173.
5. Einother S.J.L. and Giesbrecht T. (2012) Caffeine as an attention enhancer: reviewing existing assumptions. Psychopharmacol, 225(2):251-274.
6. Brunyé T.T. et al. (2010) Caffeine modulates attention network function. Brain Cogn, 72:181-8.
7. Brunyé T.T. et al. (2010) Acute caffeine consumption enhances the executive control of visual attention in habitual consumers. Brain Cogn, 74:186-92.
8. Brunyé T.T. et al. (2012) Caffeine enhances real-world language processing: Evidence from a proofreading task. J Exp Psychol Appl, 18:95-108.
9. Dawkins L. et al. (2011) Expectation of having consumed caffeine can improve performance and mood. Appetite, 57:597-600.
10. Terry P. et al. (2009) Dissociations between motor timing, motor coordination, and time perception after the administration of alcohol or caffeine. Psychopharmacol, (Berl) 202:719-29.
11. OECD (2017) Compendium of Productivity Indicators. Available at: https://data.oecd.org/lprdty/gdp-per-hour-worked.htm
12. Ding M. et al. (2014) Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and dose response meta-analysis. Diab Care, 37(2):569-586.
13. Santos R.M. (2016) Coffee consumption, obesity and type 2 diabetes: a mini review. Eur J Nutr, 55(4):1345-1358.
About ISIC
The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) is a not-for-profit organization, established in 1990 and devoted to the study and disclosure of science related to "coffee and health." Since 2003 ISIC also supports a pan-European education programme, working in partnership with national coffee associations in nine countries to convey current scientific knowledge on "coffee and health" to health care professionals.
ISIC's activities are focused on:
- the study of scientific matters related to "coffee and health"
- the collection and evaluation of studies and scientific information about "coffee and health"
- the support of independent scientific research on "coffee and health"
- active dissemination of balanced "coffee and health" scientific research and knowledge to a broad range of stakeholders.
ISIC respects scientific research ethics in all its activities. ISIC's communications are based on sound science and rely on scientific studies derived from peer-reviewed scientific journals and other publications.
ISIC members are six of the major European coffee companies: illycaffè, Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Lavazza,Nestlé, Paulig, and Tchibo.
About coffeeandhealth.org
The website http://www.coffeeandhealth.org is a science-based resource developed for health care and other professional audiences and provides the latest information and research into coffee, caffeine and health.