While Omicron has cast a shadow over people’s plans to enjoy Christmas and New Year celebrations, one thing that the virus will not have been able to do is stop people from eating and drinking, often to excess.
As a result, one racing certainty in a world that is anything but certain (especially racing itself, but we’ll leave Lewis Hamilton to stew over that), is that most New Year resolutions will centre on becoming much healthier.
This is where water cooler installation could be a smart idea in your office. After all that alcoholic excess, many will feel they need to give both their livers and their waistline a break.
Drinking water is such a healthy thing to do that it is sometimes surprising that we seek to add so many things to it, pleasant though some of the sugary flavours or alcoholic effects may be.
It helps your body remove waste, improved digestion, encourages healthy eating by filling you up more, and also boosts both cardiovascular health and mental performance – the last of these being an extra reason for having it in the office.
All this could be just what some folk need after weeks of stuffing themselves with fatty food, stodgy puddings, chocolate and alcohol. The typical Briton consumes nearly 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone, according to research by Wren Kitchens.
Indeed, a focus on drinking more water rather than popping out for a liquid lunch at dinnertime may be an important part in a drive to change a series of consumption habits.
Of course, there are limits to what water can do; it won’t change your need to eat more healthily, get more exercise in and nurture other healthy habits. But it can pay a key part in getting people to drink well, and the sight of a new water cooler in the office may help people make this one New Year resolution that they keep.