Should you let staff bring cake to the office?

A British health tzar has caused a stir by suggesting that it’s unhealthy for colleagues to bring cake to the office.

Professor Susan Jebb, chairwoman of the Food Standards Agency made this recommendation to office workers saying that bringing such a sweet treat was akin to passive smoking and that people should be helping each other by creating a “supportive environment”.

This was shot down by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shortly afterwards. His personal spokesperson said that people should exercise the personal choice to share treats in the office but added: ‘We want to encourage healthy lifestyles and are taking action to tackle obesity which has cost the NHS (National Health Service) £6 billion annually.’

South Africa also has an obesity problem. According to one report, half of all adults in South Africa are overweight (23%) or obese (27%). The World Obesity Federation predicts this will only get worse with an additional 10% increase in obesity among adults by 2030. 

While bringing cake into the office is still creating much debate, if you did want to create a supportive environment particularly if your co-workers are still struggling to maintain their New Year’s resolutions, what should you be doing? Here we offer a few suggestions of our own:

Let them eat healthy cake

Bringing in healthy alternatives to cake is possible. Encourage staff to bring in things like homemade popsicles, frozen fruit pops, dark chocolate truffles, and carrot cake oatmeal cookies. There are also lots of sugar-free cake recipes that can be found online that offer some healthier options. 

Let them have an alternative

Jane Galloway, founder, and director at Quiet the Hive says there are other ways to bond. ‘In person, you could change this to healthier foods (we’ve had success in the summer with bring-your-own picnics), or perhaps a group walk and talk. Over the ether, create an ‘arrival’ moment where the first 15 minutes is spent in breakout rooms connecting and catching up on a personal level. There is a whole range of ways to connect as humans in the workplace that avoid the sugar rush!’

Let them eat cake (sometimes)

South African restaurateur, chef, and television presenter Dame Prue Leith also waded into the debate highlighting that it if was done in moderation, it was fine. According to Huffingtonpost, she said: ‘I think it’s a bad idea to just say to people you mustn’t eat cake and taking cake into the office is like passive smoking. I think we need to say yes, of course, you should occasionally eat cake, it’s just not a good idea to eat a lot.’

Just let them eat cake

Jen David, owner of the CV Shed says cutting out cake would create a sad office environment. ‘I already have kids, I have no desire to mother fully grown adults. Cake is one of the true joys of working in an office – what miserable sadist would take this little piece of sunshine from such a grey and soulless place? Plus if you can’t even say no to a bit of cake, how on earth can you stand up for yourself on the bigger issues?’