Encouraging hydration in the workplace

Whilst hot drinks will improve hydration levels, for optimum hydration, pure water is the number one choice.  The European Food Safety Authority recommends that men drink 2.5 litres of water per day and women drink 2.0 litres and whilst this water can come from both food and drinks, they suggest that 70–80% of a daily water intake should come direct from drinks and 20–30% from foods. Hot drinks will help to meet a daily drinking target however, water is one of the healthiest ways to hydrate as it has no calories or sugar.

Workplaces are required to ensure that employees have adequate access to safe drinking water and ideally a ‘Hydration Station’ should include a range of hot and cold drinks plus drinking water. The 1992 Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare Regulations (Regulation 22) states that employers should meet certain requirements which include:

•  Providing an adequate supply of clean drinking water.
•  Making sure that this is readily accessible at suitable places and conspicuously marked by an appropriate sign.

Ensuring that staff drink enough water throughout the day is key. Staying hydrated can help to improve work productivity, enabling better performance, both mentally and physically. Importantly, different types of environment can impact how much water is required and in busy, warm environments in particular, moisture evaporation can increase, leading to faster dehydration than normal.

Encouraging staff to have a drink of water as soon as they get to work sets them up for a great shift, and displaying posters near water coolers to remind staff to get a drink as they’re passing also provides great encouragement. Depending on the role, it’s not always appropriate for staff to have a reusable water bottle, therefore it’s important to make sure you provide a paper cup or a PLA plastic cup that can be composted. 

For workplaces wanting to use compostable hot and cold cups, we have recently launched a new range of eco-cups that includes a fully compostable, plant-based KRAFT hot water cup which can compost in under 12 weeks in an industrial composting facility. The new environmentally friendly solutions are lined with plant-based PLA and made from sustainably-sourced paper to ensure the cup is 100% natural and compostable whilst still maintaining its thermal properties, making them ideal for a range of drinks from coffee and tea through to hot chocolate and soup.