Is it hot where you are because it’s burning where I am and according to the forecast, this heat wave is not about to cool down. I know I’m not the only one who thinks this calls for a water allowance! Kind of like when fuel prices go up and adjustments are needed so staff can get to work. Check any bin and you’re likely to find more empty water bottles than any other trash. Environmentalists must hate this but what can we do? By 10:00am, our water dispenser is empty because everybody is thirsty and it doesn’t help that some of my colleagues carry these huge water bottles that drain the water in minutes! Sometimes it takes a day or two before a refill and water is life as you know so more often than not, you find yourself having to buy bottled water and depending on your line of work, you may need at least three or four bottles, especially if you venture out often or else risk dehydration! When you add it all up, it’s expensive. What I’ve had to do is carry my own water and if you can, I’d advise you to do the same. Just boil some at home and refrigerate overnight and in the morning, place in a paper bag for those of you guys who don’t carry bags because mine has enough room for two big bottles! I share snacks but not my water and I’m glad my colleagues understand because no one has asked or helped themselves to mine, yet!. Unlike some lucky people taking Summer breaks, meaning they’re more likely to afford moving to areas that are cooler, many of us have to deal with the heat. Some nights are too hot and even when you took a shower say at 6:00 or 7:00pm, by midnight, you’re sweating buckets and it’s not like you can just open a window the entire night because that might present problems of its own so you take yet another shower. You’ll also be required to change sheets more often than you normally would and your water bill at the end of the month is going to spike. Then there’s deodorant because with heat comes sweat and it doesn’t smell good. You’ll need to reapply deodorant over the course of the day and while a bottle may have lasted a month in cooler times, you may find yourself having to restock mid-month. If you’re one of those with a small garden or plants at home, they need to be watered too. See all this extra money you need? The hope is that bosses will be more understanding as I’m sure they feel the heat too even with their air-conditioned offices, cars and homes. So fingers crossed they won’t need a lot of convincing to approve those Heat/Water Allowances.
