Spoiler alert: yes.   Here are some reasons why some water bottle locations are “cooler” than others.

Being out in the open.

Find a place that people walk past often and is in plain sight.  The goal is for them to use the cooler and drink the water.  If the cooler is in plain sight and easy to access then they are more likely to stop.  

High traffic area where others can hear and see it being used.

Most of us have been there.  We’ve been sitting at our desk for what feels like 20 minutes and we look up and it’s 3:00.  Using the first suggestion of “Being out in the Open”, when we hear someone taking a break that reminds us to get up and stretch our legs and grab a cup.   

Avoid the back of the break room.

If the cooler can’t be out in the open, place those coolers near the entrance of the room.  Employees might avoid walking through others’ work areas  just to get a quick sip of water.  

Find an area that has room to store the extra bottles.

Not everyone is lazy, but if the bottle is empty and the new one isn’t right there, there’s a smaller chance that it will actually be replaced right away.  There are a lot of cool bottles stands available online.  

A simple change to the water cooler location can boost your team’s morale. 

Trust us on this one. When the cooler is in an open area, highly visible, and in a high traffic area, your associates see colleagues at the cooler and get up to chat.  The more times that an associate can have a quick one-on-one conversation instead of an email their communication runs smoother.  This also is a place that employees can bounce some great ideas around.  Plus, a little water on anything can make it grow, so let work relationships blossom by simply allowing your team to ask “what did you do this weekend?” while snagging a quick drink around the water cooler.