Question: Why does Google give free lunches?
Answer: By providing food within the office premises Google effectively encourages its employees to spend more time in the office. Employees spending more time in the office results in more productivity. The costs of providing food are less than productivity loss from employees leaving the office premises. Thus by giving free lunch, Google cuts costs.

Welcome to Costs Matter, a series that asks different questions all of which have the same answer: to better manage costs. The costs are frequently economic though not always. The series focuses narrowly on the impact of costs. It does not claim these costs are the sole cause. To read more in the series, visit https://medium.com/galileo-onwards/costs/home.

The same applies to Google’s other perks and to other employers that offer similar perks, of course. They’ve calculated that the increased costs from food and other amenities are offset by increased employee productivity. And that’s why the perks are where they are.

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