With money tight, food buys favor

William A. Berry & Son Inc. had layoffs in January, but that didn't stop the Danvers construction company from holding a cookout in the parking lot for employees. There were hamburgers and hot dogs - and plenty of camaraderie.

"Feed 'em and they'll come," said payroll manager Judy Manuel. To her, this kind of effort by the company says: "The ones we keep, we want to take care of."

Employee morale has fallen in offices across the country as companies lay off workers, cut salaries, and slash benefits during these tough economic times. Keeping employees happy helps foster productivity and loyalty, but many businesses can't afford the big raises and lavish parties of years past. So many are taking a very basic route toward boosting morale: through their em ployees' stomachs.

"You find out a lot about the company you work for when the chips are down," said Bill Driscoll, New England district president for staffing firm Robert Half International.

Business aren't handing out free food just to be nice, of course. People that remain after cutbacks, he said, are "critical to the survival of the company."

And the key to survival? Pizza, of course.

According to a recent national survey by staffing service Accountemps, a division of Robert Half International, 68 percent of 1,400 chief financial officers interviewed said they have taken steps to lift the spirits of their workers in the past 12 months. The main thing employers are doing, according to the survey, is increasing the frequency and quality of communication - but dangling an egg roll in front of their workers doesn't hurt either.

Food "appeals to our need for relatedness," said Paul Baard, a communications professor at Fordham University who researches workplace motivation. "You kind of break through that barrier when you sit down and break bread together."

Of course, free sandwiches and cookies don't make up for the fact that people are losing their jobs and there's more work for those who remain. Barbara Wheaton, a culinary historian who lives in Concord, said feeding employees may make them feel better for a moment, but it doesn't relieve the anxiety. "It's an aspirin for a migraine," she said.

Food also doesn't always fit into the budget - but some bosses are taking matters into their own hands. Expenses are being counted "on an hourly basis" at Zink Imaging Inc., a Bedford-based company that developed an inkless digital printing platform, said president Wendy Caswell. So she cut the twice weekly lunches the company had been springing for and reached into her own pocket instead, paying for one meal a week herself.

The meals - pizza or subs in the winter, hamburger and hot dog cookouts in the summer - are important because they give Zink's 142 employees a chance to talk about the company, Caswell said: "It's empowering."

Sometimes just planning a meal - even if the company doesn't pay for it - can have the desired effect. Last month at Anderson Power Products, which makes electrical connectors in Sterling, about 30 employees took part in a Cinco de Mayo potluck in the break room, sharing black bean and rice salad, scalloped potatoes, and pie at tables adorned with plastic sombreros. Talk centered on the food - not their co-workers who had been laid off a few weeks before.

Human resources manager Anita Desai started organizing these monthly social gatherings in February including a bake-off and peanuts and popcorn in honor of the Red Sox opening game. "We want people to know that just because we've had a little bit of a downturn, we're not neglecting those we have," she said.

Even companies that are doing well during the recession are finding that food can speak volumes. Baystate Financial Services has a tradition: It orders pizza on rainy days so employees don't have to leave the building for lunch. It was barely sprinkling on a recent Wednesday, but that didn't stop managing partner David Porter from buying 25 pies from Bostone Pizza for his employees, who devoured almost every slice in about 10 minutes.

Business is good at Baystate, but Porter said he realizes that the economic crisis is on everyone's mind. "We're celebrating the victories more than we used to," he said - and they're usually celebrated with a meal.

Even a small, sweet treat can have a big impact. About a year ago, Christina Carico, director of special projects at William A. Berry & Son, noticed that everyone in the office seemed down, so she went to Stop & Shop and brought back dessert.

"It instantly changed the mood of the building," she said. "And it's just a Popsicle."

Katie K. Johnston Chase can be reached at johnstonchase@globe.com.