海角社区 Research Bites: A common myth about food insecurity is disproved
November 03, 2025
A common understanding about food insecurity is that it 鈥渋sn鈥檛 a workplace concern.鈥� But 海角社区 researchers weren鈥檛 convinced. In a study published in Personnel Psychology, they put this understanding to the test.
The researchers, including from the Rucks Department of Management in the E. J. Ourso College of Business and PhD alumnus , surveyed hundreds of employees across various industries about their workplace and food insecurity experiences. They also asked these employees' co-workers to rate their performance.
They found that food insecurity has real costs to businesses because it affects employees鈥� work performance. Food insecurity causes people to ruminate at work (e.g. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 stop thinking about my food situation鈥�), which directly impacts their work performance and outcomes.
鈥淢anagement scholars have largely overlooked the effect food insecurity has on employees,鈥� the researchers write.
Michael Johnson, left, from the Rucks Department of Management in the E. J. Ourso College of Business and PhD alumnus Francisco Moreno.
These workplace food benefits were ineffective and seemed to exacerbate employees' concerns about their food insecurity, rather than alleviating the issue. In contrast, having a supportive supervisor was most effective.
鈥淗aving a supervisor who offers a 鈥榣istening ear鈥� is much more impactful than offering free snacks or meal discounts,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淭he good news is that training supportive supervisors has been shown to have widespread beneficial impacts across work issues (e.g., turnover, workplace morale, performance).鈥�
While public and economic policy are crucial in addressing food insecurity, businesses can implement concrete changes (e.g., training better and more supportive leaders) to help mitigate the negative effects of food insecurity in the workplace.
Read the study: Moreno, F. J., Bigelow, B., & Johnson, M. A. (2025). . Personnel Psychology.
The lead author on this study, Francisco Moreno, recently graduated from 海角社区鈥檚 management PhD program and is now an assistant professor at Michigan State University.
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