Fast Company posts an interesting article about how Google is using simple cues to prompt employees to make better for you decisions.   Explains Jennifer Kurkoski, who has a PhD in organizational behavior and runs a division of Google’s HR department called People Analytics, “When employees are healthy, they’re happy. When they’re happy, they’re innovative.”  Here are some the tactics Google is using:

SALAD GAZE: Waiting for you as you enter the cafeteria is the salad bar. According to Jessica Wisdom, a member of the People Analytics team, studies show that people fill their plates with whatever they see first. Thus, leafy greens get the most visible real estate. Desserts, meanwhile, are down another line of sight.

SIZING DOWN:  While grabbing a plate to load up on grub, you see a sign informing you that people with bigger dishes are inclined to eat more. It doesn’t tell you what to do, but it affects your behavior. This simple “meta nudge” caused small plate usage to increase by half, to 32% of all plate traffic.

COLORING OPINIONS: Harvard recently revamped its food pyramid, and those lessons in metered portions have translated into a colored tag system in the cafeterias. you see green labels paired with veggies, giving you liberty to dig in. Most desserts have red ones, warning potential gluttons to proceed in moderation.

DESERTING DESSERTS:  So you’ve had a bad day, and even a glaring red tag isn’t enough to discourage you from indulging in a treat. Fortunately, desserts are designed to be downed in just three bites. By making people think about having to take a second dessert plate, Google is nixing potential binges.