Zip Water x Works with WELL: what it means for workplace wellbeing and drinking water specification

Workplace wellbeing is increasingly shaped by the places people work in, the systems they use, and the everyday experiences and amenities they rely on throughout the day. For FMs, specifiers, and architects, that means considering how air quality, light, comfort, acoustics, movement, access to water, and shared spaces can all influence how people experience a building.

Zip Water’s HydroTap has the Works with WELL designation from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), making it easier than ever to choose a drinking water solution that aligns with wellbeing-led workplace design.

What is WELL and Works with WELL?

The WELL Building Standard is a global framework focused on how buildings, organisations, and communities can support human health and wellbeing. 

WELL v2, the latest version of the standard, is built on 10 core areas: 

• Air

• Water

• Nourishment

• Light

• Movement 

• Thermal comfort

• Sound

• Materials

• Mind

• Community

Each core area encourages project teams to think beyond how a building looks or operates, and instead how the built environment can support the people using it every day. 

Works with WELL sits within this context, as a licence given to IWBI to products or services that have been validated as aligning with one or more WELL strategies. In simple terms, it helps specifiers, architects, and facilities managers identify solutions that align with wider WELL-led design and specification goals. 

This matters because workplace wellbeing needs to be made practical. Businesses may have broad ambitions around health, comfort, sustainability, and employee experience, but these ambitions need to be delivered through real design decisions, product choices, and day-to-day facilities. 

Works with WELL, therefore, helps connect that ambition to the products and services being specified into a space – the ones that, ultimately, building users will interact with every day

Why drinking water is key to wellbeing-led workplace design

Drinking water can sometimes be treated as a basic utility, but in a workplace setting, it has a much bigger role to play. Hydration systems are used multiple times a day by employees, visitors, clients, and building users. 

Kitchens, tea points, breakout areas, meeting spaces, shared facilities – hydration has the power to shape the way people take breaks, fuel their performance, and interact with each other. That makes drinking water more than just part of the everyday workplace experience.

When water is easy to access, pleasant to drink, and readily available, it becomes easier for employees and visitors to stay hydrated. When it is difficult to find, poor quality, inconvenient, or reliant on single-use bottles, it can create unnecessary friction and negatively impact both the environment and employee perceptions of their employer.

The WELL framework helps bring this thinking into focus, considering how amenities support healthier routines, build better experiences, and create more people-focused workplaces.

HydroTap’s Works with WELL designation

Zip Water’s HydroTap range has the Works with WELL designation, reinforcing its role as a strong choice for projects where wellbeing, design, and user experience are a key part of the brief.

Depending on the model, HydroTap provides filtered boiling, chilled, sparkling, and ambient water from a single system. With market-leading 8-in-1 MicroPurity™ filtration technology, it is also independently certified to reduce the eight most harmful contaminants in drinking water:

• Chlorine taste and odour

• Sediment

• Lead

• Limescale

• Bacteria

• Microplastics

• PFAS

• Asbestos

This filtration also supports a better taste profile. During a blind taste test, 92% of people preferred our filtered chilled water to ordinary tap water, while 89% said they’d drink more water if they had access to filtered drinking water.

Knowing this, and that HydroTap has the Works with WELL designation, facilities teams and specifiers can be confident that they’re providing high-quality drinking water at work.

From wellbeing visions to everyday experiences

Workplace wellbeing is shaped by the full experience of a space. Works with WELL helps to bridge the gap between wellbeing as a vision and wellbeing as a deliverable. For drinking water provision, HydroTap’s Works with WELL designation gives project teams even more reason to see hydration as part of healthier workplace design.

Explore Zip HydroTap’s Works with WELL designation and discover how smarter drinking water solutions can support healthier, more people-focused workplaces.

FAQs

What is Works with WELL?

Works with WELL is a designation from the International WELL Building Institute for products and services that have been validated as aligning with one or more strategies in the WELL Building Standard.

Is Works with WELL the same as WELL Certification?

No. Works with WELL is not the same as WELL Certification. WELL Certification applies to buildings, spaces, or projects. Works with WELL applies to products or services that align with relevant WELL strategies.

What WELL concept does drinking water relate to?

Drinking water relates most directly to the ‘Water’ concept within WELL. However, workplace water provision can also support the wider wellbeing experience by making hydration easier, more visible, and more convenient for employees, visitors, and building users.

Does Zip HydroTap have Works with WELL designation?

Yes. Zip Water’s HydroTap range has achieved the Works with WELL designation from the International WELL Building Institute, supporting its role in wellbeing-led workplace design and specification.

How can HydroTap support workplace wellbeing?

HydroTap can support workplace wellbeing by giving employees, visitors, and building users easy access to great-tasting filtered drinking water. Zip’s market-leading 8-in-1 filtration helps reduce contaminants that can affect water quality, taste, and odour, making hydration more appealing throughout the working day. Zip can also advise on where HydroTap systems are placed, how they will be used, what water types are needed, and how hydration points can contribute to healthier, more practical, and more people-focused workplace spaces.