There are a number of very good reasons for providing a water cooler in the workplace. First, the human body is made up of around 70% water. A drop of just 2% in body water affects concentration, the ability to learn and, not surprisingly, mood. So keeping water levels up is essential.
Next, here in the UK, it is a legal requirement to supply fresh drinking water to your employees1 and it is a simple courtesy to offer it to visitors to your place of work, especially since water is fundamental to sustaining life. Without it, you’d die!
Of course you can provide water from the cold water tap in the toilets or kitchen (umm, nice!), but water treatment tends to give most tap water an unpleasant flavour or smell or even make it downright undrinkable. Just because it’s safe doesn’t mean its nice.
There are some good business reasons why you need a Water Dispenser. Employees who experience minor levels of dehydration can suffer loss of concentration. Studies in some of the world’s largest employers such as General Motors, Procter and Gamble and Johnson and Johnson have shown that easy access to fresh drinking water in the workplace makes a measurable difference to employee morale as well as performance, some showing a 3 to 1 return on investment in equipment costs. So, a ready supply of water keeps employees hydrated, happy and productive!
You could provide bottled mineral water but it’s expensive and needs to be stored somewhere.
I have some personal questionability about the quality of mineral water, knowing what I know about it’s source and how the industry certifies it. Check out our FAQ videos to find out why I (personally) would never drink mineral water.
So the ideal solution is to provide some type of Water Dispenser in the workplace. A convenient chilled water cooler is the ideal way to address all the above.
What does a Water Cooler do and why does it work?
A Water Dispenser is designed to provide a continuous supply of drinkable water in the workplace. Some provide water at room temperature. Others can chill the water to make it more refreshing and are called Water Coolers and some can heat the water to almost boiling point suitable for making hot drinks.
The water comes either from a large reservoir or bottle, or from the mains water supply. Earlier Water Dispensers used large plastic reservoirs but more are now plumbed directly into the mains supply. For reasons we describe elsewhere we only supply Water Dispensers that connect directly to the main water supply.
Water Dispensers include some filtration to make the water pleasant to drink and dispense the water from a tap into a cup or glass or in some cases a jug. Paper or plastic cups can also be used although these add to the problems of waste and recycling.