In many ways, water is the essential building block of your body’s composition. After all, it makes up about  60 percent of the human body. That’s why it’s so important to stay properly hydrated. Drinking water helps our bodies function, impacts our cognitive process, and even helps with weight loss. It’s no wonder more workplaces are encouraging drinking water. When employees are hydrated, not only do they feel better—they’re also healthier and more productive!

Productivity Pitfalls with Dehydration

We all know that dehydration can ruin an athlete’s performance during the big game. Yet we often don’t realize that hydration plays a critical role in our day-to-day functions, too. Even a 2% deficit in body water is thought to reduce cognitive performance. Now, other studies show that cognitive performance is impaired even with a 1% drop. What’s  more startling is that this 1% to 3% drop in hydration can occur just from our regular activities in an office setting. You don’t necessarily need to be actively exercising or outside in high heat to have problems with your hydration levels. Even with mild to moderate dehydration, you can start to notice problems with the following:

• Short-term memory
• Arithmetic ability
• Perceptual discrimination
• Fatigue, confusion, and anger

Although these mood scores are subjective, the findings are still concerning. It’s hard to have a team focused on productivity when individuals aren’t feeling their best. Could those issues with workplace communication be the result of poor hydration? If that’s the case, then a few water breaks might be more helpful than any team building workshop!

Encourage Hydration in the Workplace

You might need to get creative if you want everyone on your team to reap the benefits of proper hydration. Encouraging these habits should be a company-wide effort. That way, every employee can feel more alert for great productivity.

1. Do you provide clean, safe drinking water?

Clean water tastes better. And better taste leads to better hydration. If you have an outdated water fountain or a cheap pitcher filter, you’re not giving your employees the high water quality they deserve. There are plenty of commercial water filtration options available today. Find the right one for your team, and everyone will be more motivated to hydrate with a beverage of their choice. (That’s part of why we love Keurig—you don’t have to stick with plain water!)

2. Are you reminding employees to stay hydrated?

Creating a workplace culture that champions drinking water is a great way to boost everyone’s hydration levels. Of course, these changes don’t happen overnight. You can start slow by sharing information on the importance of staying hydrated during company meetings, spread facts with breakroom posters, or even send reminder emails to fill up your water glass. You’ll also need to give employees plenty of opportunities to take  water breaks for productivity. There shouldn’t be any shame in staying healthy and hydrated.

3. Can you offer other incentives for drinking water?

Providing drinking water perks can help incentivize your team, too. Why not splurge on some company-branded reusable water bottles? Staying hydrated and focused throughout the day has benefits that far outweigh the costs of the bottles themselves. You can also offer incentives for your taste buds. Stocking the  break room with plenty of hydration options like tea, cocoa, or infused water can be a fantastic way to get everyone on board.

Good Water, Great Hydration

Increasing your team’s hydration levels typically starts with an effective water filtration system. How else are your employees supposed to enjoy drinking water? If the water at work doesn’t taste clean, no one will want to drink it! First, you have to analyze your water’s problem spots. Does the tap water have a funny, musty taste? Or is it more like a swimming pool? Being able to tackle these problems with a commercial water filter will help you say so-long to these water issues. A good local water filtration company is sure to help you out. Once you have your unit in place, then you can start thinking about other benefits to offer your team. Switching to a Keurig system might be a fun way to give everyone more options for their hydration. If the person at your front desk prefers a light, hazelnut coffee, but your guys in accounting love coffee that’s dark and bold, you can make everyone happy by giving them customized options. You can even use your commercial Keurig system for a variety of teas and cocoa, too. And since every drink is made with filtered water, you know they’ll taste great. When you have the right water at work, it’s so much easier to stay hydrated, happy, and productive!