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“You are not a drop in the ocean. You are the entire ocean, in a drop” – Rumi

The Perfect Storm

The ongoing global environmental crisis, a global pandemic and subsequent economic crisis have been of paramount importance in influencing millennials when it comes to their food choices. These external factors play both a direct and in-direct pivotal role in terms of our overall worldwide food consumption patterns. The journey of this resilient generation into adulthood, having been heavily accompanied by financial upheaval, technological transformation, and both political and social movements has been a huge learning curve requiring them to evolve and adapt in what can only be described as brave, courageous, and highly commendable ways. The culmination of this collective uncertainty has created a generation tentatively riding the cusp of a wave in terms of shaping new trends and making informed choices when it comes to their image and self-esteem. 

The Deloitte Global Millennial Survey (2020) recently revealed that Millennials, amongst the other younger generations, remain resilient in the face of adversity. However, on the contrary, this may not reflect the overall individual daily insecurities of these beautiful people. Unique in their ways it may be hard at times for them to find their place in this uber-connected world. They are constantly bombarded on a day-to-day basis, by a plethora of marketing techniques designed to influence their insecurities when it comes to food. 

Being dubbed ‘The Resilient Generation’ it is heart-warming to see the determination in this generational cohort and their ongoing efforts to drive positive change in their communities and around the world globally. However, driven by this united sense of collective respect and responsibility which at times, may overshadow personal insecurities concerning their body image.   

Ripple on the River: The Psychology of Eating

According to Rolin et al., 2018 resilience is not only crucial in crises situations, but it’s also a helpful feature in dealing with everyday life. Research studies by Izydorczyk et al. (2019) show an association between lower levels of resilience and stronger excessive eating patterns triggered by food appearance, smell, or effortless accessibility to food. When we are busy, preoccupied or stressed we tend to consume the quickest most comforting foods that we can find. This quite often can be in the form of fast-food takeaway convenience options rather than more nutritious fresh fruit and/or salads options. This may not be intentional when the brain is distracted, but food may often be consumed then to make us feel better. In the long term, these types of food choices do not address the underlying issue affecting our emotional mental state. It is interesting to note that a higher level of self-esteem among young people, both men and women, is an important psychological intervening variable in generating healthy eating attitudes (Izydorczyk et al., 2019).

Unintentionally, millennials have grown up in a society that tends to promote and reward external beauty and physical attractiveness. Bearing this in mind, it’s inevitable that a large portion of this cohort, and in particular the vulnerable, will feel a wave of pressure to keep up with or maintain appearances with the result that some will suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and body confidence issues. When it comes to food no one size fits all and I continually championed this important truth. Having researched various diets over the last three decades and in later years discussed and learned about them in greater detail with millennials and a variety of peer groups, both face-to-face and online via my social media platforms. I find it fascinating that at times, that a large proportion of millennials don’t seem to take the time to understand their bodies, by way of eating behaviours, food triggers and consumption patterns when it comes to their food purchasing decisions. They tending to be more influenced by marketing and perceived notions in terms of what’s on-trend thinking these will work to make them feel more body confident. From Intuitive Eating to Keto diets, Mediterranean diets to Low-Calorie diets I’ve seen them all in some shape or form. This generation are now presented with more food choices than all the earlier years of my life put together! However, it’s not to say that this multitude of food choices comes with additional benefits. New age food choices tend to favour the large multinational food companies whilst the undercurrent of supporting local producers is still there, bobbing away, trying to keep afloat, grounding this generation as a beacon of hope, and directing them to come safely back to shore.

Ebb and Flow: Food Education

“Comparison is The Thief of Joy” – Theodore Roosevelt

Over three years ago I embarked on a journey creating and launching my brand The Culinary Celt. Deep down I wanted to be a changemaker and leave an important legacy in terms of food education, by way of imparting my unfiltered knowledge about food and how to push through the noise when it comes to the way that it’s marketed. 

At times food marketing can be a beast and raise its head in the form of the Lough Ness Monster! In the previous volume of this book series in my chapter titled “The Millennial Appetite for Culinary Wellness” I lay bare about the power of nutritional foods and how they can often be forgotten in the daily lives of this fast-paced generation, even though consistent healthy food choices can help counterbalance low mood, low resilience, and concentration levels, optimally nurturing both brain and body.

From an early age, millennials have been instilled with the notion of ‘Comparative Culture’, having grown up over decades of continual connectedness. This generational cohort is presented with the illusion of being in control when it comes to their body image. From my experience, acceptance of others seems to take centre stage. However, this may not be evident when it comes to self-acceptance and resilience on a personal level. 

There is an apparent drive for perfectionism when it comes to body image and with this comes a skewed notion of ‘being enough’. The millennial cohort tends to lack a sense of self in this shared community, where it seems that the sum of the greater collective can at times fuel an epidemic of anxiety, lack of self-belief and comparing judgment. As food fuels our body this unfortunately may at times be the catalyst that individuals turn to in times of low resilience and personal critique. Is it Instagram able…will I be accepted…what filter will make me look better…the list goes on and on!  

Lifebuoy: Eating Healthy Boosts Resilience

As humans, we biologically adapt to our food environments. We tend to eat what is convenient and available with the least amount of energy required to obtain it. On one hand here, in what’s classed as developed countries, we have a surplus of very accessible, inexpensive food which is readily available, convenient, and heavily marketed as ideal mealtime options. Whilst on the other end of the spectrum, education of nutrition and modern cultures have not kept pace with these changes in the food world. Concerns such as being overweight and worrying about food have been a result of this mismatch between human biological predispositions and the current food environment. 

There are several ways that greater resilience can be built to alleviate stress.Diet is key in terms of body resilience, as eating the right foods and boosting the intake of certain nutrients can dramatically help increase energy reserves equipping us to better deal with life’s challenges. When it comes to feeling resilient what we eat matters. If stressed our body may become fatigued, which in turn may lead us to eat high-energy foods options such as sugars and refined carbohydrates as a pick me up! 

A bespoke integrated approach tends to work best when building resilience around food. These words of India Arie’s song beautifully reflects the uniqueness in us all when it comes to facing head-on body resilience, through what I describe as a distorted culinary lens:

“When I look in the mirror and the only one there is me
Every freckle on my face is where it’s supposed to be
And I know my creator didn’t make no mistakes on me
My feet, my thighs, my lips, my eyes, I’m loving what I see

I’m not the average girl from your video
And I ain’t built like a supermodel
But I learned to love myself unconditionally
Because I am a queen…

Sailing Upstream: Food-Focused Mindset   

Staying connected remains a way of life for millennials. The internet provides this unlimited access to information, generating a heightened awareness in relation to food tangibility that connects how we fuel our bodies via our natural environment. Good food choices are a positive and tangible way to empower facing daily body image insecurities. Food that is grown and consumed in its natural intended state helps bring about a better understanding when it comes to self-esteem and body image resilience. I have begun to call this new-age conscious state – hosting a ‘Food-Focused Mindset’. 

Thankfully, millennial consumers are considering foods that have been produced sustainably. A primary concern for them lies in transparency, particularly when it comes to how food products are manufactured and what’s in them. However, we all play a role in terms of the health of the planet, especially when it comes to the greenhouse gas emissions caused by our food systems. So, our day-to-day food choices become extremely important in aiding the overall reduction of our carbon footprint. 

Like lighthouses at sea, which for centuries have helped bring boats safely to shore, I view the multitude of social media platforms to be the new-age catalyst and enabler of educational shifts, that are empowering millennials to select and consume more wholesome, natural, and less ultra-processed foods. 

Safely Ashore: The Future of Food

Innovation and technology will help us be more conscious of our ongoing food consumption patterns. Figuring out a secure, sustainable, and fair food system for our planet has become one of the most defining issues of our time. Where we go from here ultimately depends on our individual resilience and how our thoughts and perceptions of body image from a culinary perspective feed into the collective sum: 

“Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. 

Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home” – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Published in the Mental Health for Millennial Book Series (Vol.5) by Book Hub Publishing http://www.bookhubpublishing.com

References

Deloitte (2020) “Global Millennial Survey”, available at https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/about-deloitte/articles/millennialsurvey.html, accessed at 17:25, 6^th February. 

Izydorczyk, B., Sitnik-Warchulska, K., Lizińczyk, S., & Lipiarz, A. (2019) “Psychological Predictors of Unhealthy Eating Attitudes in Young Adults”, Frontiers in Psychology, (Vol.10), pp. 590, available at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00590/full, accessed at 14:35, 10^th January. 

Rolin H., Fossion P., Kotsou I., Leys C. (2018) “Considerations sur la resilience: trait ou aptitude?”, Revue Medicale de Bruxelles, (Vol.39), pp. 22–28, available at file:///C:/Users/cfitzgibbon/Downloads/rmb-1367%20(1).pdf, accessed at 12:15, 13^th March. 10.30637/2018.17-050

“Food for us comes from our relatives, whether they have wings or fins or roots. That is how we consider food. Food has a culture. It has history. It has a story. It has relationships” – Wiona Laduke.

Breaking Bread

Millennials take centre stage when it comes to food. This foodie generation has fundamentally changed the way food is created, served and delivered in the workplace by being part of a transformation age which has allowed them to disseminate information at speed making it important for employers to offer more transparency, consciousness and connectivity when it comes to their food offerings. Then just when we thought we’d figured out Millennials, Generation Z are now making an entrance into the workforce! This generational cohort have been exposed to what it means to be connected, transparent and conscious for all their lives, having grown up in an era where technology such as iPads, smartphones, and social media are the norm. With Generation Z being the up and coming workforce and game changers in relation to food it’s important from the outset to recognise that ‘connectedness’ from inception sets them apart from previous generations. 

As “Gen Z” transition into the workplace, Millennials are adapting in order to survive and collaborate with this new generation. In the world of food marketing, authenticity has become a core focal point. Millennial consumers were the first generation to make known their preference for authentic content whilst Generation Z are going further by making it clear that it’s important for them to feel connected to brands and the people behind them. It’s the reason that so many food brands have now made conscious decisions to make their marketing campaigns as true to life and as relatable as possible. One such example is the Happy Pear. Irish plant-based vegan chefs, Dave and Stephen Flynn, have achieved success by marketing their ‘Happy Pear’ brand in terms of being a movement to create happier healthier lifestyles in a community style environment that make people feel supported in their efforts to make change (The Happy Pear, 2020).

Culinary Connectivity WORKS! 

Our attitudes may differ when it comes to nutrition. However, it’s an undeniable primary fact that food is required to provide daily sustenance. Today’s food-centric generations (Millennials and Generation Z) have elevated food to a new level given rise to more fully immersive food experiences at work. Being more food-focused at work than previous generations, both of these generational cohorts tend to put further emphasis on their food workplace offerings. In response to this, employers are beginning to realise the efficacy of healthy food in terms of productivity in the workplace. According to Short (2019), some companies now understand the importance of food as an enabler in retaining valuable employees, by providing a work environment conducive to wellness with food at the heart of the proposition. For instance, employees at the global tech company Google enjoy some terrific perks at work. Historically, Google employees appreciated perks such as paid maternity and paternity leave however Yang (2017) suggests that in more recent years they have highlighted workplace food and food education offerings as some of their most favourite perks at work. Bock (205) supports the view that most of their food source offerings such as cafes, canteens and micro kitchens are strategically placed between different work teams with the goal being to connect them together by encouraging them to interact and collaborate. By creating these types of food spaces employers also positively encourage employees to leave their desk and interact with other work colleagues, whose workspaces are not nearby. A variety of free cookery classes and demonstrations which are offered as perks for employees, that were traditionally available on-site, have now moved online to connect remote staff working from home, allowing them to continue to bond with teammates whilst also enabling them to learn how to make new dishes. To that effect McNamee (2020) reported that after lockdown a lot of large corporate companies in both Ireland and abroad, wanted Ballymaloe Cookery School based in East Cork to run online cookalongs with their staff.

During the recent COVID-19 pandemic, which is still on-going, Kunthara (2020) highlights the fact that numerous companies worldwide such as Fitbit and Red Bull have increasingly embraced home delivery options by providing employer-subsidized, work-from-home boxes to for their employees. You may ask yourself the reason why companies are pivoting and provide these fantastic workplace food offerings and food perks? Well, in most cases the purpose of these perks is to help support staff during this challenging time and inspire a culture of innovative thinking.

Hungry for Knowledge

These two demographic cohorts’ tend to face criticism over their commitment to the workplace. Brandished by Bhunjun (2018) as work-shy generations exhibiting “snowflake” tendencies, these young adults are reported as being more prone to taking offence and being thin-skinned compared to previous generations. On the contrary, recent data analysis by Fry and Parker (2018) from the Pew Research Center shows that Generation Z are the most diverse and highly educated generation. This remains evident when it comes to food as Millennials and Gen Zers are both demanding fresh, organic and sustainable food offerings. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2004) the previous selection of food that used to feed daily diets was limited, with 75% originating from just twelve plant and five animal species. Younger generations recognise that this widespread food consumption monotony and dependence on a narrow range of agricultural products may lead to health implications as well as increasing vulnerabilities on their food system, that currently appear to be under threat from climate change.

Millennials and Gen Z tend to take a holistic view when it comes to their health. To this effect they place considerable emphasis on the importance of physical fitness, healthy eating, and mental well-being. When it comes to food, they want convenient and healthy options available to them. A recent Nielsen Global Health and Wellness Report (2015) discovered that Gen Zers are the most willing of all generations to pay a premium for healthy foods, such as all-natural, sustainable and GMO-free foods. In terms of nutritional choices, Gen Z are in favour of low-carb, high-protein foods, likely to consume plant-based products and are also more open to becoming vegetarian. Jed (2018) maintains that these dietary choices are primarily motived by health and environmental concerns with almost 80% of Gen Z planning to go meatless at least once or days per week.

Over the past two decades, social media has played a huge part impacting these younger generations. Due to these advances in technology the passage between Millennials and Gen Zers has accelerated intensely in terms of food. The fact that both generations have grown up with companies marketing to them largely through social media platforms, as much as every other advertising channel, makes them question authenticity more when it comes to the food they choose to eat. With the average attention span of this iGeneration being down four seconds from the attention span of millennials Reilly (2017), this youngest generation have adapted and developed more of a “Grab and Go” culture when it comes to food than the previous generations that have gone before them. For the past five years, Jack Kirwan founder and co-owner of the Dublin based Sprout & Co. has successfully been providing this type of healthy grab and go food offering to meet the needs of these food-centric generations. He maintains that technology has been a huge enabler of efficiencies in running the business successfully and he also understands the importance of transparency when it comes to sourcing ingredients (Bord Bia, 2017).

Whilst we are currently living and working in this era of COVID-19 it has also become apparent that these generations are starting to pay more attention to the science of food functionality, opting for more nutritional food sources that will help boost their immunity. According to recent Google searches immune-building foods, vitamins and minerals including vitamins C and D, elderberries and spinach are a selection of food source and vitamin search terms that are being researched for their immune potential.

Food Centrality at work

A study published by the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) in 2018 valued the workplace wellness market at a staggering $47.5bn (Kumar, 2018). Given the considerable time that employees spend in their jobs Quintiliani et al., (2010) believe that workplaces now represent an influential setting for influencing dietary patterns. By extension these communal food consumption patterns highlight the influence of workspaces as being an important centre for shared food moments and experiences.  I touched on the fact that we consume food differently when we’re in the company of other people compared to when we eat alone in a recent publication titled “Millennial Culinary Curiosity: Generation Foodie Fuelling Generation Next” (Fitzgibbon, 2019).

The current COVID-19 pandemic has changed this traditional dynamic of workplace settings with employees now, more than ever, craving social connection. Pre-COVID-19, working from home was considered a top employee perk whilst now, in most cases, it’s a requirement. With lockdown restrictions in place, various governments worldwide are making it compulsory for employees in non-essential workplace employees to work in homebased settings to help in their national efforts to reduce the COVID-19 virus number. Companies are becoming creative, finding unique ways to bring together and engage employees by way of food and it’s centrality context in the workplace setting. Deloitte Australia has independently experimented in this idea of virtual socialising by way of meals shared with their virtual team members around a video conference meeting with no agenda. These brown bag lunch events have become increasingly popular enabling remote workers to take a break and engage with each other whilst mainstreaming flexibility. HR departments are also co-ordinating voluntary lunchtime Zoom video sessions for employees that allowed them to talk about things unrelated to work.

Recent research in understanding  millennials highlights the priority they place on forging shared experiences using food and drink via their capturing and sharing of food moments (Bord Bia, 2014). Being digital natives having always known a life emphasised by shared connections Generation Z have embraced and further accelerated this concept. Furthermore, most of these Gen Zers are looking for food options at work that fit in with their core values. Thus, being inclusive and social food can help to bind work colleagues and generations together.

IncrEDIBLE Engagement

According to the global foodservice company Sodexo (2020), “the new 360-degree workplace food landscape is reshaping traditional approaches based on consumer insights and big trends transforming the way we work and live”. Food is now an offering at work that a multitude of companies are building with employee participation. Unlike the traditional one-dimensional workplace food offerings which previously were enough to satisfy employees, these new 360-degree food landscape offerings are enabling employers to consider employee wellbeing, productivity and performance.

As the behaviours and perceptions of the new generation of employees have evolved, so too have their expectations when it comes to food in the workplace. Millennials and Generation Zers are used to a different standard of foodservice and expect this to be mirrored in their workplace food experience. Traditional lunch hours have become obsolete. Be it working remotely or in office settings, these new generations have one thing in common – they are looking for more flexible offerings that fit flawlessly into their lifestyles. When it comes to food, they expect the same level of convenience and choice that they receive outside the office environment.

COVID-19 has accelerated the need for employers to embrace solutions that support these changing workstyles and evolving expectations, with emerging innovations that bring new value to employees. Companies have been adopting innovative incentives to maintain productivity and engagement among their telecommuting staff. Perks related to food and drink, teambuilding and the use of technologies such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts have been embraced while HR departments are in the process of making ongoing adjustments and rethinking new approaches in terms of their company cultures.

Food has always been a social movement, by way of its network of informal interactions between individuals, groups and organizations on the basis of its shared collective identity. The current COVID-19 pandemic workplace has globally accelerated food changes, allowing both Millennial and Gen Z generations to explore the world of ‘Social Gastronomy’, in terms of new and different approaches of acting and thinking when it comes to the collective food in the workplace space. We have seen social gastronomy in action with campaigns such as ‘Feeding the Frontline Workers’. Clean Cut Meals, a Galway-based healthy food preparation and delivery company, in the West of Ireland is one of many food companies, having delivered free healthy and nutritional meals to medical and frontline staff at their workplaces during this crisis. With many of them working exhaustive hours during this global healthcare crisis it has left many of them with very little time to shop or cook. Then at the other end of the spectrum other catering and food businesses are serving at-cost meals to supply food-insecure residents in their communities.

Hurrah for Hyperlocal!

Having never known a world without a smartphone, Gen Z are hyper-connected (Powell, 2015). They are highly aware of what is happening around them on both a regional and global level making them both hyper-local and hyper-global. The recent Mitchell (2019) “OmniLocal Consumer Report” examined the new definition of local and the implications for brands. Their research shows that 74 per cent of Millennial and Gen Z consumers do not consider geographic location when defining “community.” Instead, more than half of these surveyed generations maintain that “local” is anywhere that they connect with others who share their same interests. For many Millennials and Generation Zers work is a central focus in terms of their shared values and interests. So, on this front it’s important for employers to understand and embrace the ‘Hyperlocal’ concept when it comes to food, in order to satisfy employee expectations.

Deliveroo is a fantastic example of cutting-edge food company that appeals to these food-centric generations, having surpassed everyone in their niche food delivery platform. With operations in several global locations the company is currently valued at around $2 billion (Singh, 2019). Disrupting the traditional business models Singh (2019) proposes that Deliveroo combined the aggregator business model with the marketplace and logistics business model to create an all-new hyperlocal on-demand business model. By positioning the business as a hyper-local brand they can effectively offer a diverse premium range of local food via their network of global locations. The Covid-19 pandemic has helped to further shine a beacon of light on local produce and producers, with social media platforms trending hashtags such as #buylocal, #shoplocal and #supportlocal, reminding us all to help sustain work and local employment in our communities. 

The Future of Food at Work

The future looks bright in terms of comestible connectivity in the workplace. Both Millennials and Generation Z have the potential to reset expectations impacting the future of the food. Raised to focus on the quality of food, whether it’s fresh, clean, or nutritionally beneficial these younger generation of employees are now becoming collaborators in the movement toward a better and more sustainable food future. They are leading the way by already making conscious choices aimed at driving positive impact for the good of the planet in their own lives whilst also influencing those around them. It will be important for employers to align their food offerings with these trends to meet this modern employee mindset.

… “La nourriture est notre terrain d’entente, une experience universelle” – James Beard.

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