If you are considering purchasing or hiring an office water cooler to ensure that your staff has easy access to chilled drinking water during the hot summer months we are facing, then you need to look past just what the water looks like.
It is important to consider the capacity required, the cost of the water cooler itself, whether it is more cost-effective to hire or to purchase, and whether it is more cost-effective to get a bottled water cooler or a mains water cooler.
Are Bottled Water Coolers Cost-Effective?
Office water coolers should not be seen as a luxury but as an integral part of office equipment because they are vital to the productivity and good health of your most important asset, human capital.
When people do not drink sufficient water they become dehydrated, which does not just mean that they get a dry mouth and become thirsty, but can lead to a slew of health conditions that could become very serious. Dehydration causes moodiness, fatigue, headaches, lethargy, a befuddled brain, dizziness, difficulty producing saliva, increased heart rate, respiration and body temperature, and neuromuscular seizures, to name but a few.
Bottled water coolers are more suited to smaller businesses due to the fact that the bottles generally used contain around 19litres of water, and the more individuals there are accessing the chilled water the more times the bottles will need to be changed. This means that a storage space is required to store both full and empty bottles, and arrangements need to be made for delivery and collection as often as is necessary.
Some problems with bottled water coolers that may affect cost include:
- Fluctuating water prices;
- The cost of deliveries;
- The storage space required that could be used for other purposes;
- Bottle deposits that need to be tracked; and
- Health and safety issues regarding lifting heavy bottles.
It has been calculated that an average of 2 bottles of water per week are required per 10 staff members, especially in the height of summer, and this translates to lot of bottled water that needs to be delivered and stored, especially for companies that have a staff complement of 100 or more.
Hopefully the above information has helped you to decide whether it would be cost-effective for you to use bottled water coolers or whether mains water coolers would be more appropriate. Should you still have any queries or doubts, contact Living-Water for a free water-needs assessment and advice as to which water cooler would be best for your needs.
