Office Water Cooler
There are many things to consider when you decide to install an office water cooler in your workplace. Some of the common issues that require decisions are if you will lease the dispenser or buy it outright. Who will be your water supplier or will you use filtered water from the building’s supply? And another important issue is to where the cooler will actually be placed in the office.
You might think that last one is rather easy to figure out, but where you install your office water cooler can have a huge impact on the entire dynamics of the office flow. It’s important to recognize that as a growing office that requires planning about work space layout, many managers or supervisors charged with acquiring a water system have no experience whatsoever about such office management issues. Obviously, these can potentially have significant social and productivity implications. The following are typical factors that should be looked at when deciding the actual location of your office water cooler.
Click Here For The Lowest Prices On An Oasis Office Water Cooler
What type of office are you running?
If you are managing an office area that is predominantly “closed office doors”, then your water supply could be in a spacious, high traffic area, especially if there is no designated lunch room for an office water cooler. It should be away from any greeting area for clients, but close to most of the offices. An open, bright window area is often a good choice, but keep in mind that you want the space to be comfortable for only 3 or 4 people max, so that noise and gatherings don’t frequently get out of control
Now let’s say that you have a typical phone centre with open cubicles. Well, in that case there are a lot of conversations going on at each desk and an office water cooler nearby would just be noise interference, and a distraction to employees. In a workspace like this, I would consider having the water unit out of the room. Not only will this cut down on too much background buzzing, it will provide your staff a clear separation from the work room where they can drink, stretch, speak freely and get a real psychological break from the phone work. Your staff will also implicitly understand that they should keep noise down in the phone room, but just stepping into the water break area they can relax and connect with other people more freely.
There are many creative offices too where open desks are arranged in small groups, sometimes even facing each other. These layouts are typical for designers, producers, and editors for example. Ordinarily staff in these environments are not reserved, and a lot of banter goes back and forth intermittently through the day. They will also be somewhat mobile within the office too, going from desk to desk, meeting rooms, or smaller closed door recording areas. Hence the office water cooler in a situation like this could be best placed off in a corner or partitioned area so that people can actually get a quiet break from the regular intensity of a social office. Keep in mind as well, that a lot of these creative types will likely have bottled water (or other beverage) on their desk too, so leaving for a drink, is really leaving for a break and it will be important to allow them to step away and an office water cooler area will be a natural draw for them.
Another thing to consider is if other employees of the company will be using the same office water cooler. You may have maintenance or warehouse staff frequenting into the office area for water — especially once they find out it’s filtered! How far do they have to walk to the dispenser? Do you even allow them into the area? If not, then you may have to consider a separate water system for them. If you do, will they have to walk past quiet work areas or important phone calls going on? If you are in a meeting with an important client, would you appreciate your cleaning staff walking by after cleaning toilets, full of gear and rattling key chains, perhaps even a cell phone going off, etc.? Probably not, but it’s something you obviously have to think about before you locate your office water cooler.
Does your office entertain clients or associates?
This is something you’ll want to consider as well because an office water cooler should be located near a typical meeting room or reception area that your guests will be commonly using. This adds a level of professionalism, convenience, and a general reminder for staff to offer a drink to clients as well. Another issue to decide if you will be giving them little paper cups? If I got a little paper cup with some water in it, I would have to wonder where it came from, wouldn’t you? So make sure that either they get bottled water or be able to see and dispense the water themselves.
Checkout The Reviews of Bottle Water Coolers and Bottleless Water Coolers
Do you have a designated lunch room?
If you have a lunch room or small kitchen, then an office water cooler might also be a good fit, but a lot of people will still use the sink, or since it is an eating area there are often other beverages in the room, perhaps refrigerated as well. In that sense, other issues mentioned above might require that your filtered water be better served elsewhere in the office.
Do you have the proper plumbing for an Office Water Cooler?
This is probably the issue that needs to be addressed first because there can be some structural limitations as to where the office water cooler actually ends up. However, what might make the most sense in a social sense may not be as feasible as first thought. Fortunately there are a selection of models that can be adapted for older office buildings that can be used with flexible plastic hosing that can be tucked away on floor edging if necessary. In addition, portable, refillable 5 gallon water bottle dispensers are popular too if plumbing is not a reasonable option.
As you may now realize, you don’t get an office water cooler installed at the wave of a hand. Some of the issues mentioned here may not be pertinent to your situation, but they should get you thinking before you make your decision on model and placement.
