Why Not Having an Office Water Cooler Is Actually Costing You Money

You might think that not having a water cooler or dispenser in the office is saving you money in terms of upfront installation and ongoing rental / refill costs. But in actual fact, NOT having a water dispenser may be reducing your efficiency. 

Because hydration acts as a small but significant driver of worker productivity, a water cooler will positively impact your business's bottom line, not least in terms of boosted productivity levels and reduced levels of both presenteeism and absenteeism.

For offices where desk and floor space is at a premium, an Aquacool countertop water dispenser sits neatly on a worktop and keeps hydration within easy reach of your team throughout the day.

In this post, we look at how a water cooler may be one of the wisest investments you can make as a business.

Presenteeism

The phenomenon of presenteeism is a real problem for some organisations.

When workers are physically present in the office or factory but not quite performing to their full potential, you have what is known as a presentee worker.

A major contributor to presenteeism is known to be dehydration. That's because dips in hydration levels can impair focus and concentration, which can snowball into something more serious if it isn't urgently addressed.

Memory & Mental Fog

The first signs that someone is suffering from dehydration will manifest as reduced attention span, poor memory, reduced reaction times and a generalised mental fog.

Memory and mental acuity can reduce task execution efficiency and contribute to a decline in overall productivity, particularly in busy work environments where the worker has to be mentally sharp at all times.

Furthermore, if you factor in the additional costs this brings when a worker is in a time-critical role or where colleagues are part of a production line, then the effects of one dehydrated worker can quickly make themselves felt across an organisation.

Mood

In customer and client-facing roles, human relationships are all-important.

However, research suggests that mild dehydration may be associated with depressed mood, heightened irritability levels and general fatigue and listlessness.

These effects are generally small, but they can be significant, especially in sales roles and with client-focused workers, where employees interact with outsiders.

The effects of dips in hydration on a worker's mood are most noticeable and consequential in hot environments and in roles that require prolonged concentration.

This means that you can expect less engaging conversations, reduced patience in long interactions and less emotional intelligence among client-focused employees when dehydration sets in.

Conclusion

It should be borne in mind that hydration is considered an opportunity-based human endeavour by sociologists. That means that taking on water and keeping well hydrated is largely driven by convenience - if water coolers and refill stations are handily located, readily available and free of charge, people will tend to make use of the facilities.

‍