It shouldn't come as a surprise that employees today are stressed out. The past few years have been physically and emotionally draining for nearly everyone. But what many business leaders and HR teams often don't realize is that what and how employees eat plays a significant role in how detrimental that stress is to their wellbeing and work performance. In fact, food habits influence much more than how we manage stress. Food has the ability to power — or hinder — our performance in all aspects of life.

Why should employers and HR teams care about the nutritional habits of employees? For starters, what employees eat directly affects physical and mental health, energy levels, and the ability to handle job pressures, all of which influences work productivity, health care costs, and retention. All told, job stress is estimated to cost American companies more than $300 billion each year in health costs, absenteeism, and poor performance while also contributing to increased turnover.