The top ten ways to get your team to drink more water

Hydration at work: What it can mean for your business:

Ever noticed how you sometimes feel sluggish in the afternoon – what’s commonly called the afternoon slump? You feel tired, irritable and you can’t seem to think things through. Part of that is caused by mild dehydration – 1% to 2% of your body weight that evaporates from breathing, perspiration and from consuming diuretic beverages like coffee and energy drinks.

Making sure your team gets enough water is not only important for their wellness, but it can have a very real impact on productivity, creativity and team spirit. But getting your team to drink more water can feel like herding cats. Here are some tips you can share with everyone to get them pointed in the right direction.

  1. 1 – Keep a water bottle handy

    Work water into your day – rituals are an important part of getting more done. A little structure makes things become automatic. So, creating water triggers in your schedule by pairing a glass of water with common activities makes it easier. After 3-4 weeks, the behavior becomes engrained in your schedule and it becomes easy to maintain.

For example, a neat way to help drink more water is to bring a tall glass or a reusable bottle to every meeting you attend. As an added bonus, water helps you focus and maintain your attention while sitting through a lengthy discussion or a tedious budget meeting.

  1. 2 – Size matters

    Take a page from packaged goods manufacturers and big box warehouse stores. It’s common knowledge that bigger containers make you consume more. So grab the biggest glass or reusable bottle you can find (and that’s convenient to carry around – buckets are kind of overkill). Those few extra gulps will go a long way towards reaching your 2-liter daily goal.

  1. 3 – Use an app or calendar

    There are dozens of health and wellness apps that allow you to track your water consumption and schedule reminders throughout the day. Not a fan of apps? Simply use your calendar to set recurring reminders at convenient times throughout the day. Or set a 60-minute timer of an hourly hydration break. Drinking a refreshing glass of water will soon become a no-brainer.

  1. 4 – Add flavor to your water

    If you find the taste of water unappealing, add a dash of flair. Turn your water into a flavorful experience by adding natural flavors to your H2O or infusing it with berries, citrus, mint or a combination of delicious thirst quenching delights. You can flavor ice cubes and add a tasty and refreshing one-two punch to your daily water regimen. 

  1. 5 – Location, location, location

    Keep your water dispenser in a convenient location that everyone can access with minimal effort. In a large office, consider multiple water dispensers strategically located in high traffic areas. No need to stay close to a water source: a Strauss WaterBar can be positioned up to 110 feet away from the nearest plumbing.

  2. 6 – Use a straw

    Some water bottles come equipped with a straw for a very good reason. They help you to drink faster, ingest less air and take bigger gulps. Plus, there’s something soothing about using a straw that takes us back to our childhood.

  1. 7 – Drink tea instead of coffee

    Coffee doesn’t deplete your system, but its diuretic effect makes its hydration neutral: You loose about as much as you drink. So it doesn’t actually contribute to your 2 liters a day. Switch to herbal tea, iced tea and other non-caffeinated beverages to help you stay hydrated and reach your daily quota.

  1. 8 – Refill your glass before putting it down

    Let’s face it, we’re all a bit lazy to some degree. So, an empty glass is likely to remain empty because the effort to fill it seems greater than the reward. We’ll wait until we’re really thirsty before leaving our desk and by then it’s often too late. The effects of mild dehydration have already kicked in.

  1. 9 – Get your water every way you can

    A comforting cup of soup or a bowl of oatmeal in winter, a chilled beverage or a slice of watermelon in summer all count towards your hydration goals. Mix it up to keep it interesting.

  1. 10 – Make drinking water convenient

    A multi-use water dispenser (like the Strauss WaterBar) makes it quick, easy and convenient to drink more water. Look for quick-refill settings and higher flow rate to avoid waiting around when refilling a 1 liter bottle.

Multiple temperature settings mean more ways to consume water without the hassles of kettles and microwaves. Room temperature settings make it more comfortable to quickly down a glass of H2O, particularly for those with sensitive teeth, and is easier on digestion.

So, there you have it. The top ten ways to get your people to drink more water. Want to share your own tips for staying hydrated throughout your hectic day? Visit our Facebook page.

To learn more about Strauss WaterCare program and our office drinking water solutions, click here.

Contact a Strauss Water Consultant today for more details

The secret to clean, pure, fresh-tasting water

Three steps to better water for your office

The sanitary quality of tap water is by and large okay, with a few noted exceptions that pop up in the news from time to time. But that doesn’t mean you’d want to drink it straight from the tap (yuk!). Because local treatment facilities add copious amounts of chemicals and additives, like chlorine and fluoride to make it safe to drink, the taste and odor are sometimes less than inviting.

Not so “straight from the spring”

That’s why many so-called “spring water” bottlers use municipal water, but employ various means to remove the unpleasant chlorine odor and to improve the taste, then sell it to businesses and consumers at a hefty markup.

Bottled water, regardless of the source, comes with a range of issues including a considerable carbon footprint from bottle production and transportation, as well as potential water quality issues due to storage and contact with direct sunlight.

Reverse osmosis filtration, often used by bottlers, and in some under-counter filters, also has a range of drawbacks including acidification, mineral removal and more (for more see Office water solutions go head to head).

But transforming ordinary tap water in to clean, pure, great tasting water isn’t that hard – with the right technology. Which is why the Strauss WaterBar and the Strauss Built-In units are great choices. Here’s why:

Step one: filtration

There are various means for filtering out impurities from drinking water including paper cartridge filters, activated charcoal filters, membrane filters, reverse osmosis and more.

Most paper cartridge filters trap only part of these impurities and let the rest pass through. Reverse osmosis filters, on the other hand, are so fine that they trap most chemicals, but also remove healthy minerals and salts. They also waste a huge amount of water!

However, activated charcoal filtration, (used in the Strauss WaterBars and under-counter systems) removes the chemicals that cause the unpleasant taste and odor, but leave in the good minerals. PH balance is preserved and the water tastes great.

But beware: Not all charcoal filters are created equal. The secret to proper filtration, is the amount of water that comes in contact with the filter. The Strauss multi-staged filter is designed to maximize the contact surface for maximum effectiveness. More water in contact with the filter means greater water quality.

Find the solutions that's right for you.

Step two: purification

Health Canada sets high standards for drinking water in this country, but don’t require 100% purity. Standards allow for trace amounts of bacteria, germs, algae and more. And when this water sits in storage, or is exposed to sunlight, these contaminants tend to multiply.

UV purification, used in the Strauss WaterBar, zaps the DNA of any living organism in the water, eliminating their ability to reproduce. This UV process means that the water is always 99.9% pure.

Step three: temperature

The problem with tap water is that it fluctuates with the seasons. Icy cold in winter when you’d prefer a warm beverage. Warm in summer, when you need to cool off. It’s never just right. Get it too cold and your body’s in for a shock (can you say brain-freeze). Get it too warm (above room temperature) and it’s not refreshing.

Of course, some bottled water dispensers provide hot and cold water. But the settings are usually fixed. The hot water isn’t quite hot enough for a great cup of tea, soup or oatmeal. And the cold setting can be too cold for comfort. Some sources suggest that room temperature is the most refreshing temperature, maximizing the benefits of proper hydration.

But water temperature is often a matter of taste, which is why the Strauss WaterBar has custom settings for chilled, room temperature, hot and boiling. No need for ice, kettles or microwaves to drink your water the way you want it.

So, you see that with the right technology, the secret to clean, pure, fresh-tasting water is as simple as 1-2-3.


 

Contact a Strauss Water Consultant today for more details


 

Related content

Office Water Solutions: Five things you need to know about office filtration systems

Office water solutions go head to head

 

Office Water Solutions: Five things you need to know about office filtration systems

OFFICE FILTRATION SYSTEMS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL.

Of all the office water solutions, the most efficient, affordable and convenient of them is an office filtration system. These integrated units remove the hassles associated with the traditional office water coolers and dispensers. No more changing bottles, messy cleaning and maintenance, spills and frustration.

Here are five things you need to know about water filtration solutions before you buy or rent an office water filtration system.

1. Get it down on paper

Paper filter cartridges are a common solution to remove chlorine and fluoride as well as some particles from drinking water. But they can only do so much. That’s because the pores of the filter are coarse and let finer contaminants pass through. They are less costly, but only cover the basics. For healthy, great-tasting water, you need a lot more.

2. Charcoal filters are better but have their limitations

These filters beat paper filter cartridges hands down. But for charcoal filters (also known as active carbon filters) to work, all the water must come in contact with the surface of the filter to maximize absorption of the bad stuff.

The greater the contact area, the more substances are removed. With some active carbon water filters, the water passes through unevenly. As a result, not all contaminants, chemicals, bacteria and germs are captured. With others, the flow of the water is engineered to maximize surface area.

3. Multi-stage filters offer greater effectiveness

Multistage filters, like those used in Strauss WaterBar and under-counter units, feature multiple filtration media that combine active carbon with extremely fine micro-mesh to filter out more impurities.

Find the solutions that's right for you.

4. Reverse Osmosis: too much of a good thing?

At the extreme end of the scale, there’s reverse osmosis filtration (often referred to as RO) that uses extremely fine filters. These filters are so fine that they remove not only the contaminants, but also the healthy essential minerals that keep our bodies strong and are responsible in part for water taste. Some RO filtration systems add the minerals back in, and in general, RO systems and their supplies including replacement filters are very costly.

5. Water Filtration and purification are the ultimate one-two punch!

Multi-stage carbon filters remove almost all bacteria and micro-living organisms, but once water leaves the filter, they can still proliferate. That’s why the addition of a UV purification lamp is required to maintain water quality.

The UV lamp zaps the water, disrupting the DNA of unwanted living organisms so they can’t reproduce. That leaves water 99.9% free of bacteria and germs.

So, as you can plainly see, providing convenient, great tasting water for your business isn’t as simple as it appears. The old bottled water cooler is a solution whose time has passed. And with the dizzying array of new office water solutions at your disposal, you need to choose wisely.

Understanding how water filtration and water purification work hand in hand is important to making and informed decision. For more information on Strauss Water filtration technology, click here.

Get a 21-day free trial of Strauss WaterCare and taste the difference triple filtration and UV purification can make. You won’t be disappointed.

 

Contact a Strauss Water Consultant today for more details

 

Find the office drinking water solution that’s right for you

Do you know what to look for when choosing an office drinking water solution? This Buyer’s Guide will help you make an informed choice and find the solution that best suits your team.

In this 5-page Buyer’s Guide, you’ll discover:

  • The most common office drinking water solutions and how they differ on the most important dimensions
  • Why Bottled Water has a heavy carbon footprint and adverse environmental impacts
  • How under-counter solutions that rely in reverse osmosis can often reduce water quality and promote waste
  • The key benefits of the Strauss WaterCare program
  • How to choose the WaterBar that’s right for you

Download this Buyer’s Guide today



You can also discuss the convenience of the Strauss WaterCare program with our Water Consultant at 1-855-542-6365.

Uncover the Hidden Costs of Office Bottled Water

Your water cooler may be costing you much more than you think. This insightful report highlights the many hidden costs associated with bottled water in the workplace and points to concrete solutions to drive out these costs.

In this 12-page report, you’ll discover:

  • What your office water consumption should look like
  • How disruptions in the workplace add significant costs
  • Why bottled water can negatively impact team spirit
  • How bottled water can become a health and safety risk
  • The carbon footprint of bottle water

Download this new report today




 

You can also discuss the hidden costs of office bottled water 
with our Water Consultant at 1-855-542-6365.


Workplace productivity – Don’t let disruptions erode your effectiveness

How to drive out time wasters and get more productive

Interruptions and disruptions in the workplace is a growing challenge for organizations, big and small. A challenge that has reached epidemic proportions if you believe several recent reports on the issue. According to Basex research, interruptions cost the U.S. economy $588 billion a year, driving down profitability and costing jobs and economic growth. In Canada, the trend is similar.

According to another study, the typical knowledge worker is interrupted every 11 minutes on average throughout the day. Incoming emails and phone calls, texts and instant messaging, notifications and alerts, not to mention people popping into our office to ask a “quick question” break your concentration, fragment the workday and translate into increased risk of error and workplace stress.

Self-interruption is a growing phenomenon

What is truly surprising is that the same study revealed that 50% of interruptions are self-inflicted. That’s right! Half the time, we interrupt ourselves and move from task to task, sometimes not returning before the next day!

What is truly surprising is that 50% of interruptions are self-inflicted.

One of the big culprits behind self-interruption is multi-tasking. We mistakenly believe it makes us more productive, but in fact, it simply depresses productivity.

This is because multi-tasking decreases our ability to focus. We all know that our attention span has been shrinking year over year, with serious consequences on our ability to complete our tasks quickly and accurately. Between the year 2000 and 2013, our attention span has dropped from 12 seconds, to a mere 8 seconds, which is lower than a goldfish.

Getting back on task is a challenge

Even worse is the fact that it takes an average of 23-25 minutes to get back on task after an interruption. In fact, in another study, researchers found that interruptions accounted for up to 6 hours of time each and every day. No wonder we sometimes feel as if we can’t get anything done.

So here are a few simple tips to help you focus on your work and help to minimize distractions:

Lock in “task time”

Set up a meeting with yourself, add it to your calendar. Tell the rest of your team that you’re unavailable. If you can, spend the time off-site at a local coffee shop or other quiet space and get some alone time with your brain.

Switch to Airplane mode

Switch off your phone, or at least set it to silent. Switch off notifications and alerts to avoid distractions. Close your web browser, email app, and get laser-focused on the tasks at hand. If you need to do research on the web, use a browser like Safari or Firefox that have a “read mode” that blocks out all the distracting ads and useless information that fights for your attention.

Grab a tall glass of refreshing water

Your brain is made up of 73% water. So even mild dehydration can literally shrink your brain and has a direct impact on your mood and your ability to focus. A couple of tall glasses of water before you begin a task will keep you mind off your thirst and on the task at hand. Remember that you should always drink 8 glasses of water a day, and usually half of that while at work.

Close your office door

An open-door policy sounds great in a staff meeting, but when you want to get work done, you must draw a line in the sand. Make yourself (or download from the Web) a traffic-light door-hanger to ward away unwanted disruptions. Red for “do not disturb”. Green for “it’s okay to knock”.

Begin with the tasks you dislike most

Procrastination is a significant source of disruptions and self-interruption. Best to start with them early in the day when you’re still fresh. Once you’ve completed them, reward yourself by tackling something you love.

Take regular breaks

Productivity experts recommend never try to focus for more than 90 minutes at a stretch. Some even recommend a short break every 20-25 minutes. Use a timer if necessary. Get up and stretch your legs, grab a tea or a glass of water. Beware of too much caffeine that can make you jittery and distracted, decreasing your ability to focus.

Get rid of needless tasks

Relentlessly drive out time wasters that gobble up your time and that of your team.

Consider replacing your tired old water cooler with a point-of-use or under the counter system (like our WaterBar and built-in units) that will eliminate the hassles of changing water bottles, dealing with water deliveries, reordering when you run out, cleaning, maintenance and more.

These solutions also remove bottlenecks in the lunch room: time wasted boiling water for tea, soup and oatmeal. It all adds up to hours of potential time savings that can be put to better use.

So you see, there are some simple and easy solutions to get more out of your day and help to cut down distractions in the workplace. If you practice them diligently, you’ll soon start to see the rewards of a more productive and less stressful life.

 

Contact a Strauss Water Consultant today for more details