Is your company truly benefitting from those water cooler moments?

The advantages of water coolers extend far beyond simply keeping your staff hydrated, according to a major new study.

Is your workplace a haven for bad nutrition among your staff? New research has underlined the link between the food and drink choices made at work – and the ability of employees to perform to their best.

The study, published in a report entitled Food, Culture & Society: An International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, warns that consuming ‘the wrong kind of food’ can ‘derail’ an individual’s entire working day.

But there is hope – in the form of the heroic water cooler. This, says the report, is the silver bullet that can undo the negative effects of ‘negative nutrition’.

It points to the dangers of work encroaching on lunch breaks, leaving staff with limited time to make positive food choices and often reverting to unhealthy snacks.

The report also highlights the so-called ‘food alter’ at which leftovers from meetings, such as sandwiches and crisps, as well as birthday cakes and sweets, are placed for all to devour.

Mineral water or mains water coolers, however, are the most effective antidote to such activities, the study suggests.

Clearly water coolers provide hydration, which boosts concentration and encourages other important work-related abilities such as patience and decision making.

There is also an argument that it promotes physical wellbeing. The act of standing up and getting away from your desk regularly is vital for posture, while the walk to the water cooler provides a little extra exercise to the often sedate working day.

In the study, the eating habits of 25 University of California office workers were monitored over 24 hours, with the healthiness of their choices scrutinised.

Activity around the water cooler was also monitored, with researchers noting that it ‘provided stability’ in an unstable environment.

While many workers simply drank water because it was easily accessible, staff who didn’t usually drink water at home, drank it at work. Others remarked that they drank water to stave off cravings for unhealthy snacks.

Having a water cooler in a workplace really is a no-brainer. And they are certainly not just for large companies with expansive offices. At MIW they are available in an array of sizes and designs, and for a range of settings, including industrial and luxury, executive areas.

For more information on our products, which are available on no-contract, rental terms, click here.