Heatwaves, Hydration and Performance

Heatwaves, Hydration and Performance

by | Sep 13, 2018 | instant tap, water cooler

It was the hottest June in 40 years and the weather services is predicting more heatwaves for the rest of the season, making it one of the warmest summers on record. Heatwaves are a global phenomenon at the moment, and what many experts say is a taste of what’s to come in the future – our new ‘normal’. While we need to get our head around that and what it means for us long-term, we have to be cognisant of our immediate responsibility to staff members to ensure they remain properly hydrated. This is not just a health issue, because now more than ever, remaining properly hydrated is essential for peak performance. Business owners are constantly looking at ways to improve productivity, and one simple and cost-effective way to do so is to ensure there are enough instant taps or water coolers in break out areas so that staff have access to clean and safe drinking water throughout the working day.

The Natural Hydration Council, in their ‘Hydration at Work’ document stated that ‘the brain is particularly sensitive to changes in water balance, which in turn, can affect mental performance (e.g. concentration, alertness and short-term memory) and overall work-related productivity.’ In one study it was found that water deprivation had a negative impact on the reaction times of the male and female volunteers, they were left feeling fatigued and sluggish. Another study found that five adult volunteers that consumed very little drinking water for either 13, 24 or 37 hours had decidedly impaired concentration and reaction times.

Other negative side effects of dehydration include headaches and moodiness, ‘when we are lacking fluid, we can start to feel increasingly agitated, impatient and tense’ – not the best demeanor for being productive. While the type of work we do will affect the level of hydration necessary – after all someone doing manual labor outside fully exposed to the extreme heat will need far more drinking water than someone working indoors – but even those of us in an office exposed to air conditioning, which is known to dry out our skin, need to top up on our water intake to ensure we are sufficiently hydrated.

As we gear up for even hotter days, let’s be sure that we’re prepared and have everything we need to ensure employees are happy, healthy and productive. For your personally tailored water solution to help you do so, and which may encompass any one of the water cooler or instant taps ranges, reach out to AquAid today.

Switch to Instant Taps & Make a Difference to our Environment

Switch to Instant Taps & Make a Difference to our Environment

by | Aug 7, 2018 | aquaid, instant tap, Water Coolers

Earlier this year the European Commission announced plans to ban single-use cutlery, plates, straws, cotton buds and balloon sticks by 2021 in a new initiative to reduce marine pollution. We all know how dire the situation is with regards plastic pollution and how it affects our lands and oceans, along with animal and human life alike. So, one of the biggest reasons to switch to instant taps, mains fed water coolers or AquAid refillable 19ltr bottles reused between 30 and 35 times, is the fact that it does away with plastic bottles or greatly reduces the amount of plastic used.

The most common type of plastic pollution in our oceans is nurdles – these are the plastic pellets used to create other plastic products. Along with polystyrene, plastic bags and food containers, they make up the vast majority of marine debris, it is estimated that there are around 165 million tons of plastic pollution in the sea – and it forms the greatest threat to large marine mammals. Not only can they become entangled in the plastic which then curbs their movement and ability to find food, but ingested it can block their digestive system which ultimately leads to starvation. In addition to the physical impact of plastic pollution on creatures, it can also poison their system which in turn affects the food chain and our own source of food. It is estimated that nearly 500,000 marine mammals die each year due to plastic pollution in our oceans.

Left in landfills, plastic does not fare any better. Chlorinated plastic releases dangerous chemicals into the earth which can seep into underground water supplies harming the surrounding ecosystem and drinking water. In addition to this potential water pollution, another form of pollution is the methane gas released as plastic biodegrades which significantly adds to global warming – as arctic ice melts and recent heat waves can attest to.

While great efforts are made to promote responsible recycling, and while collectively we are doing a better job of reducing and re-using, which does minimize global impact, we still have a long way to go. And in a corporate setting one of the easiest ways to do our bit is to provide a more environmentally friendly water alternative for employees – if we can offer them safe, easily accessible drinking water via instant taps, mains fed water coolers or via our 19ltr refillable bottle, it prevents staff from having to buy small half-litre bottles of water which immediately reduces the amount of plastic being disposed of. If you need a tailored water solution that perfectly fits your needs and the needs of your employees, while also benefiting the environment – call AquAid today.

Employee Engagement & Instant Taps

Employee Engagement & Instant Taps

by | Aug 7, 2018 | instant tap, Water Coolers

Employee engagement, according to Forbes, is the ‘emotional commitment the employee has to the organisation and its goals. This emotional commitment means engaged employees actually care about their work and their company.’ Those who are engaged are easy to spot: it’s the person first through the door in the morning because they can’t wait to start their day, they are full of energy when they talk about their work, the corporate culture, their manager, or any challenging project they’re involved in; and their positivity inspires those around them. So it’s easy to see why employee engagement is beneficial for business, and there are a number of ways of achieving it.

One good place to start is to encourage a strengths-based culture – this exists when a team member’s strengths are aligned with their professional requirements. It’s quite different to the more standard performance appraisal system which focuses more on a person’s shortcomings rather than what they’re good at. By focusing on the positive, research has found that employees are more motivated, they are more inclined to develop their strengths, and they are more likely to thrive in their working environment.

Another way to foster employee engagement is to show that the company cares about their staff – this can be demonstrated in big ways like implementing incentive programmes or different reward systems, or providing regular training so that employees can upskill and move through the ranks more confidently. But it’s also implicit in the small things like ensuring your staff members have a comfortable breakout area (research shows that regular breaks aid productivity), and that there are tea and coffee facilities with safe drinking water easily accessible via instant taps or water coolers.

According to Glassdoor, the nine pillars of employee engagement are:

  1. Knowing your value and purpose within the company
  2. Constructive and timeous communication
  3. Health and wellness
  4. Enjoying your physical workspace
  5. Having a well-defined role in the organisation
  6. Social interactions in the office
  7. Recognition and incentives
  8. Support and buy-in from quality managers
  9. Bolstering personal growth and development

Employee engagement leads to higher employee satisfaction, higher staff retention and lower turnover, less absenteeism, higher productivity and ultimately increased profitability – can you afford to not prioritise it?

Hot Water Taps Save 119 Hours & £1,638 per Annum

Hot Water Taps Save 119 Hours & £1,638 per Annum

by | Mar 28, 2018 | aquaid, Hot Water Taps, instant tap, Water Coolers

Want to know how your business can save 119 hours and £1,638 in wasted productivity every year?

Read on …

How many cups of tea or coffee do we drink at work?

  • There are 65,64 million people in the UK
  • Each day 165 million cups of tea and 70 million cups of coffee are consumed – that’s an average of 4 cups per person per day
  • Let’s assume the average person (Jane/Joe) drinks one cup at home and three cups at the office
  • Let’s also assume that Jane/Joe is working in a micro-sized business of 9 employees and that when they make tea or coffee for themselves, they also do so for another 2 employees in the office

How much time do we waste waiting for a kettle to boil?

  • It takes 3 minutes for a kettle to boil – that’s 3 minutes Jane/Joe wastes every day waiting for hot water for the three cups of tea or coffee they’re wanting to make, assuming Jane/Joe and the two colleagues take it in turn to make drinks
  • If we work an average of 22 days per month – that’s 66 minutes wasted in the month and 792 minutes or just over 13 hours wasted per year
  • If the average working day is 8 hours long, it means we waste more than 1.5 working days per year waiting for that kettle
  • And that’s just for one Jane or Joe

Want to add a monetary value to that time wasted?

  • The average wage in the UK is £13.94 per hour – that’s 23 pence per minute, without employers NI contributions of around 13 percent
  • If Jane/Joe wastes 792 minutes per year waiting for water to boil it equates to £182 lost in productivity
  • Again, just for one Jane or Joe

Want to know how much that actually impacts on you as a business owner?

  • There are 5.7 million small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK, which makes up 99% of all businesses
  • SMEs can be broken down into micro business owners (the vast majority of SMEs) who employ 0-9 employees; small business owners who employ up to 49 employees; and medium business owners who employ up to 249 employees
  • If you are a micro business owner:

That’s a £1,638 and 119 hours (or 15 working days) loss in productivity per annum waiting for a kettle to boil

  • If you are a small business owner:

That’s a £8,918 and 647 hours (or 81 working days) loss in productivity per annum waiting for a kettle to boil

  • If you are a medium business owner:

That’s a £45,318 and 3,287 hours (or 411 working days) loss in productivity per annum waiting for a kettle to boil

Hot water taps provide instantly ready boiling water, no wasted time waiting for a kettle to boil – can your business afford to be without one?

Sources:

Business Wire Research & Markets

Statista

House of Commons Library

Why Choose AquAid Instant Hot Water Taps

Why Choose AquAid Instant Hot Water Taps

by | Mar 6, 2018 | aquaid, Hot Water Taps, instant tap, water cooler

Instant Taps are fast becoming a sleek and stylish alternative to more traditional water-points in office kitchens, breakout areas, boardrooms, and conferencing venues.  The benefits are numerous – they provide limitless hot, ambient or chilled water in one elegant solution, all at the touch of a button; they are stylish and compact, fitting neatly into a countertop with the boiler and chilling unit discreetly hidden underneath the worktop; and their instant supply of water improves efficiency, saving organisations both time and money.

When choosing instant hot water taps there are three factors to consider:

1) Your water requirements – do you require hot, ambient or chilled water, or is it a combination of all three?

2) Placement – do you want to create more space around the sink area itself, in which case the tap can be fitted with its own drain-away tray farther away; or if countertop space is limited do you want to install it on the edge of the sink or draining board itself?

3) And your preferred supplier – of all the reputable suppliers out there, why should you choose AquAid?

Apart from being the leading water cooler company in the UK for more than twenty years now, with 23 franchises across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland servicing over 30,000 customers – the major benefit in choosing AquAid Instant Taps is our service element. With us you have full peace of mind knowing that your installation will be professional and flawless, and that any services or repairs are included in our comprehensive service plans.

Most of the UK suffers from hard water scaling and too often companies choose hot water taps that don’t include a scale management filter or some form of service plan; or they’ve purchased the unit outright and scale related issues aren’t covered by warranty, which means that a few months after installation, things start to go wrong, resulting in very costly call-out and repair fees. But with AquAid rental plans – often far more affordable than buying the unit and then adding the cost of a maintenance plan on top of that – there’s no need to worry, because we ensure that the correct filters are installed from the start and our cost-effective and fully-inclusive service plans mean no unexpected and huge expenditure further down the line.

If you’re in the process of a new build or refurbishing your office kitchen, breakout area or any other refreshment point, with AquAid you can rest assured that you’re in the best hands, whatever your water needs may be. And not only will you benefit from high-quality products and exceptional service, but for a short time only you can save even more as we are also offering free installation and three months free rental on all our Instant Taps – be sure not to miss out.