Skip to content
  • FAQ
  • News
  • Contact Us
Logo
 
  • ABOUT THE ARCHIVES
  • ABOUT HEWLETT-PACKARD CO. HISTORY
    • HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
    • EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
    • MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & SALES
  • LOOK INSIDE THE VAULT
  • EXPLORE THE VAULT
  • FAQ
  • News
  • Contact Us
  • Home •
  • The HP Way: Corporate Culture •
  • The Coffee Break at HP

The Coffee Break at HP

Dave Packard chats with HP employees during a coffee break. Enlarge
Share this piece of history
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Date: 1965

Coffee breaks were a regular ritual at Hewlett-Packard facilities. Twice a day, employees from all levels and departments — including Dave Packard and Bill Hewlett — would gather around refreshment stands for complimentary coffee and snacks. The breaks’ informality fostered socialization and community spirit throughout the company, but they also facilitated creative thinking by giving people the chance to exchange ideas and problems outside of company-directed channels. The coffee break ritual was so popular that it became an internationally recognized part of the HP Way — an employee could travel to a facility on the opposite side of the world and still know just what to do if he or she heard the coffee break chime sound.

Tags: 1960s • 1965 • Dave Packard • facility • HP Way

( C ) HPCA

 
A Real Team Player: Yas Shimoguchi
 
 
Profit-Sharing Bonuses at HP
 
Related
A Team Emerges at Stanford
Tea Party Time: HP’s Teapot and Tea Cups
Toys for Tots at Hewlett-Packard
POWERED BY
Heritage Werks
© 2023 Hewlett-Packard Company Archives. All rights reserved.
HP, Inc. Terms of Use and HPE Terms of Use

  • About the Archives
  • ABOUT HEWLETT-PACKARD HISTORY
    • HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
    • EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
    • MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & SALES
  • Explore The Vault
Tell Us What You Think Icon
Tell Us What You'd Like To See?
Tell Us What You Think Icon
Tell Us What You'd Like To See?
  • About the Archives
  • ABOUT HEWLETT-PACKARD HISTORY
    • HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS
    • EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP
    • MERGERS, ACQUISITIONS & SALES
  • Explore The Vault
POWERED BY
Heritage Werks
© 2022 Hewlett-Packard Company Archives. All rights reserved.
HP, Inc. Terms of Use and HPE Terms of Use