Is Your Workplace Drinking Water Keeping Up With the Way You Work?
Does the Workplace Kettle Still Make Sense?
The modern workplace has changed. Shouldn't the humble office tap have changed with it?
Today's workplace looks very different from the office of a few years ago.
Hybrid working, greater consideration of employee wellbeing, changing expectations around sustainability and an increased focus on inclusive design are influencing the spaces businesses create for their teams.
We think that should include the places where people make a cup of tea, refill a water bottle, have lunch or simply take five minutes away from their desk.
Yet while workplaces have evolved, many staff kitchens and breakout areas are still relying on the same familiar combination of kettles, water boilers, bottled water and ageing appliances.
Perhaps it's time to rethink the workplace tap.
More Than Somewhere to Make a Cup of Tea
A well-designed staff kitchen or breakout area can play an important part in the working day.
It's somewhere to make a drink, have a conversation with a colleague, refill a bottle or take a break.
And when dozens — or potentially hundreds — of drinks are being prepared throughout the week, small inconveniences can quickly become part of the everyday workplace experience.
Waiting for kettles to boil.
Constantly refilling them.
Water bottles accumulating in fridges and recycling bins.
Separate appliances taking up valuable worktop space.
A modern drinking water system can bring several of these everyday requirements together.
What Should a Modern Workplace Water System Deliver?
There's no single answer because every workplace is different.
When we're considering a water system as part of a kitchen, staff area or workplace refurbishment, we can look at questions such as:
How many people will regularly use it?
Is instant boiling water important?
Would chilled filtered water encourage reusable bottles?
Would sparkling water be useful?
How much worktop space is available?
How easy is the system to operate?
Does accessibility need additional consideration?
How will the system integrate with the overall kitchen design?
This is where having a choice becomes important.
Thomas Vaughan can incorporate systems from both Quooker and Zip into a wider design, supply and installation project.
Rather than beginning with a particular manufacturer, we can begin with the people who are actually going to use the space.
Quooker or Zip for the Workplace?
Both Quooker and Zip offer sophisticated alternatives to the traditional kettle, but they don't necessarily need to be viewed as competing solutions.
Different workplaces have different requirements.
Quooker
Quooker is well known for providing 100°C boiling water directly from the tap, removing the need for a conventional kettle.
Depending on the system specified, a Quooker can provide normal hot and cold water alongside boiling water, while adding a CUBE can introduce filtered chilled and sparkling water.
For smaller offices, meeting spaces and high-quality staff kitchens where aesthetics and simplicity are particularly important, Quooker can be an attractive solution.
Zip HydroTap
Zip HydroTap provides a wide range of configurations capable of delivering combinations of filtered boiling, chilled and sparkling water.
That flexibility makes it particularly interesting when we're considering larger workplaces, busy staff facilities and environments where drinking water provision forms part of the wider workplace specification.
Zip also offers specific accessible controller options, giving designers another consideration when creating more inclusive workplace environments.
Accessibility Isn't an Optional Extra
This is an area that deserves much more attention.
A workplace kitchen might look fantastic, but can everybody actually use it?
Consider something as simple as making a hot drink.
Can everyone comfortably reach the tap?
Can the controls be understood and operated easily?
Is there sufficient space for a wheelchair user to approach?
Is the worktop or sink positioned appropriately?
Could someone with reduced dexterity operate the controls?
Could the layout itself create unnecessary barriers?
Accessibility isn't simply about selecting an "accessible tap". The tap is only one element within a much larger environment.
Inclusive design means considering how the entire space works together.
At Thomas Vaughan, our work in accessible kitchen and bathroom design has given us a particular interest in these details.
Because accessibility shouldn't be something added to a workplace afterwards.
Where possible, it should be considered from the beginning.
Could Better Water Provision Support Workplace Wellbeing?
We're increasingly encouraged to think about wellbeing at work, and hydration is a surprisingly simple part of that conversation.
Making good-quality drinking water convenient and easily accessible gives employees greater choice throughout their working day.
Instead of relying on bottled water or leaving the building to buy a drink, filtered chilled water can be available directly from the tap.
For workplaces where employees bring reusable bottles, that can make refilling them part of the everyday routine.
And for the tea and coffee drinkers?
Instant boiling water means no waiting for the kettle.
It's a small change, but one that can make a busy shared kitchen considerably easier to use.
What About Sustainability?
Workplace sustainability isn't created by one appliance or product.
But lots of smaller decisions can contribute to a wider approach.
Filtered chilled water can reduce the need to provide individual bottles of drinking water.
Reusable bottles can be refilled throughout the day.
And rather than repeatedly boiling kettles containing more water than is actually required, an instant system allows users to dispense the amount they need.
When we're specifying a system, we'll also consider expected usage rather than simply recommending the largest or most sophisticated option available.
The right solution should suit the workplace.
Design the Space — Not Just the Tap
This is perhaps the most important part.
Installing a premium water system into a poorly considered staff kitchen doesn't suddenly make it a well-designed workplace.
The tap, sink, worktop, storage, appliances, circulation space, electrical requirements and plumbing all need to work together.
And where accessibility is important, reach distances, worktop heights, manoeuvring space and controls need to be considered as part of that same design.
That's why our starting point isn't:
"Would you like a Quooker or a Zip?"
It's:
"How does this space need to work?"
Once we understand that, we can recommend the appropriate products.
From Office Kitchens to Breakout Spaces
This approach isn't limited to the traditional office kitchenette.
Instant boiling and filtered water systems can potentially form part of:
Staff kitchens
Office breakout areas
Meeting and hospitality spaces
Reception areas
Education environments
Healthcare and professional workplaces
Accessible staff facilities
Larger commercial kitchen and refreshment areas
The requirements will vary enormously between these environments — which is precisely why specification matters.
So, Quooker or Zip?
The answer could be either.
For one workplace, the simplicity and aesthetics of a Quooker system might make perfect sense.
For another, the range of configurations and accessible options available from Zip HydroTap might better suit the brief.
The important thing is that the product should follow the design requirement — not the other way around.
That's where working with a company able to consider the complete space can make a difference.
Rethinking the Workplace Kitchen
The workplace has changed considerably.
We're thinking more carefully about wellbeing.
We're questioning unnecessary waste.
We're paying greater attention to accessibility.
And we're asking our workplaces to provide environments where people actually want to spend their time.
Perhaps the kettle doesn't need to disappear from every workplace tomorrow.
But when you're already planning a refurbishment, new staff kitchen or breakout area, it's worth asking whether there's now a better way of doing things.
Planning a Workplace Kitchen or Refurbishment?
Thomas Vaughan provides a complete design, supply and installation service, allowing us to consider the kitchen, cabinetry, worktops, plumbing, electrical requirements and water system as one complete project.
With both Quooker and Zip available, we can help determine which solution best suits your workplace rather than simply steering you towards one particular manufacturer.
And where accessibility forms part of the brief, we can consider that from the very beginning of the design process.
Because a well-designed workplace shouldn't just look good. It should work well for the people who use it.
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