More employees are coming into the office, but they’re using in-house cafeterias less, contributing to a financial squeeze that’s making the cafeterias harder to operate, a survey by an alternative food service company finds. 

Almost two-thirds of employees who have access to an in-house cafeteria are in the office full-time, up 15% from last year, but 55% of managers who oversee cafeterias say attendance at the facilities is down, according to the survey report by ezCater. 

Just over half of managers say the facilities’ economics no longer work. Typical cafeteria operating costs “already exceed $1 million, and 55% [of managers] expect those costs to increase,” ezCater says in the report. The company makes an app available to employers so their employees can have local restaurant meals delivered to the workspace.

Employees who’ve stopped eating at cafeterias say it’s because there’s not enough variety, too few healthy choices, prices are too high, hours of operation are too limited or wait times are too long, according to the survey report. At the same time, many say the quality isn’t good.

“Fewer than half (48%) of employees with an on-site cafeteria rate the food as good or excellent, a 12% drop from last year,” the report says. 

On the employer side, managers say inflation has impacted their operating budgets, in some cases causing higher meal prices for employees. 

Almost half of managers say they don’t think they can continue operations successfully, and almost two thirds say the job has become more stressful. 

“Workplace cafeterias were built for a different era, with predictable work schedules, steady office traffic, and one-size-fits-all menus,” the report says. “Today, leaders operate those same cafeterias in a new reality.”

Hybrid office-attendance schedules are part of the problem, according to 68% of respondents, because the absence of predictable, full-time attendance makes the cafeteria facilities harder to run, the report says. “Fluctuating headcounts make consistent use difficult to maintain,” the report says. “The cracks show up … in reduced hours [and] increased food waste.” 

Just over half of managers say they’ve reduced operating hours due to lower employee use, which in turn drives more employees to look elsewhere for meals,“reinforcing a cycle of declining cafeteria usage,” the report says.

As a result, 75% of decision makers who oversee cafeterias say the facilities need to evolve or be reimagined. More than a third think that pivot should include decommissioning cafeterias in favor of alternative workplace food solutions, the report states. 

The 2026 Workplace Cafeteria Report is based on responses from roughly 600 facility managers and 1,000 employees.