At Worker Feedback Club we’ve met construction workers who’ve had to walk to the canteen for water because the contractor removed local water dispensers from site to save money.

This is false economy. Some quick arithmetic shows why:

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• A worker has to down tools for 20 mins a day to get water. There are 50 workers on site, resulting in a loss of 17 hours a day

• Assuming workers are paid £20 /hour, that’s a daily loss of £340; £85,000 annually

• If you manage 50 sites, you’re losing £4,300,000 a year

So contractors can save millions by putting water dispensers where workers can quickly reach them. And if you’re worried about plastic cups littering site, don’t supply them. People will bring refillable bottles.

Removing access to water is also a bad idea for health reasons, as we know.

But did you know this about hydration:

🧠 Short-term memory, visual perception, and motor ability are significantly impaired when hydration levels are just 3% below where they should be.

🍉 Water intake doesn’t have to be from water. You can get hydrated from water-dense foods like watermelon, cucumbers, beets, carrots, and celery.

🚰 Not everyone needs 8 glasses a day. Your intake depends on where you live, how active you are, and your overall health condition.

⚠️ You can drink too much water. It’s called hyponatremia – and it means the amount of sodium in your blood is too low.

🌈 You can google “urine colour charts” to help determine if you need more water.

 

(Source: Benton, D. (2011). Dehydration influences mood and cognition: a plausible hypothesis?. Nutrients, 3(5), 555-573.)

When astronauts are looking for signs of life in our galaxy, they’re looking for planets with water (not Coke or Red Bull). Where there is water there is life. We hope everyone working on site, especially in hot weather, is alive and well.