A word to the wise: if you want to make (most) people happy, buy them pretzels.
I enjoy most types of pretzels (the soft ones that are honestly kind of crappy, and the honey mustard-coated ones), but in many cases, I don’t like them. They can be chalky and tasteless, have too little salt, and are often straight up garbage. I’m the girl who picks them out of Chex Mix; they distract from the real, quality stuff in the bag.
In my time at Workhouse, I’ve been very intentional about the variety of snacks I bring in for the people. I believe it’s one of the more important tasks that’s peppered among other production responsibilities that I hash away at on a daily basis. Snacks are important for any good office environment. It’s a social thing, really. We stand around and talk about our hopes and dreams while eating too small, poorly pre-portioned snack bags of Sunchips or Goldfish, or maybe an apple here and there when we’re trying to be “health-conscious.” We revel at the presence of a new keg and rejoice when the Costco truck rolls up to the loading zone on 14th Avenue. I’ve learned people’s tastes (some really covet cheese, others prefer a wide selection of beverages), but in 100% of situations, the pretzels disappear immediately (I really am actually not kidding). This genuinely surprised me. How can one snack food inspire such hunger and happiness at the same time?*
This discussion has become cumbersome and drawn out too long, it’s a topic that shouldn’t be meddled with much further. Thus, I’ll spare you and reiterate that you really, really should order your people peanut butter filled pretzels. I have watched this snack food light up my colleague’s faces with joy. Perhaps more joy than a full keg of craft beer. But that’s okay. If peanut butter filled pretzels inspire creativity, then they are certainly living up to something: delivering a punch of salt with a nice jolt of sweet. The perfect combination for anyone who can’t bear another second of compositing or editing or RFP-writing or whatever until they’ve had a snack.
This is my last blog post and day at Workhouse Creative. Not sure if the next stop along the road will have peanut butter filled pretzels. Bring your people the good stuff and they’ll be happy. Until next time.
-Rachel Liuzzi
*It’s probably the salt.
