THE GOOGLE DIET
Companies spend a lot of time
finding ways to cut energy costs and
increase recycling. Here’s how the tech
giant is working to better manage
another resource: the health of its staff.
BY CLIFF KUANG
Much has changed since Google earned a
reputation for fattening its staffers with
food on demand. These days, the company
is focused on advancing its healthy-eating
initiatives. Explains Jennifer Kurkoski, who
has a PhD in organizational behavior and
runs a division of Google’s HR department
called People Analytics, “When employees
are healthy, they’re happy. When they’re
happy, they’re innovative.”
In pursuit of that healthiness, happi-
ness, and innovation, Google has turned to
“nudges”: simple, subtle cues that prompt
people to make better decisions. Behavioral
economists have shown the idea works, but
Google has taken it out of the lab and into
the lunchroom. This is a sampling of the
encouragement you’d get during trips
through the company’s eateries—and natu-
rally, Google is measuring the results.
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HARD CANDY
No longer are M&Ms in
clear hanging dispens-
ers. If you’re in Google’s
New York office, you
now have to reach
into opaque bins.
The grab takes effort;
the obscuring vessel
quells enticement. The
s witch led to a 9% drop
in caloric intake from
candy in just one week.
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SALAD GAZE
Waiting for you as you
enter the cafeteria is
the salad bar. According to Jessica Wisdom,
a member of the People
Analytics team, studies
show that people tend
to fill their plates with
whatever they see first.
Thus, leafy greens get
the most visible real
estate. Desserts,
meanwhile, are down
another line of sight.
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SIZING DO WN
While grabbing a plate
to load up on grub, you
see a sign informing
you that people with
bigger dishes are inclined to eat more. It
doesn’t tell you what to
do, but it affects your
behavior. This simple
“meta nudge” caused
small-plate usage to increase by half, to 32%
of all plate traffic.
COLORING
OPINIONS
Harvard recently revamped its food pyramid, and those lessons
in metered portions
have translated into a
colored-tag system in
the cafeterias. You see
green labels paired
with veggies, giving
you liberty to dig in.
Most desserts have red
ones, warning potential gluttons to proceed
in moderation.
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DESERTING
DESSERTS
So you’ve had a bad
day, and even a glaring
red tag isn’t enough to
discourage you from
indulging in a treat.
Fortunately, desserts
are designed to be
downed in just three
bites. By making peo-
ple think about having
to take a second des-
sert plate, Google is
nixing potential binges.
WATERWORKS
You’re back at your
desk and thirst is setting in. You head to the
kitchen. In the past,
water was on tap and
soda was in the fridge.
Now bottled water is at
eye level in the cooler,
while soda has been
moved to the bottom.
That shift in placement
increased water intake
by 47%, while calories
from drinks fell by 7%.
Taking a sip of agua,
you feel better already.
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