New Year, New Energy: Essential Hydration and Hot Drinks to Power Your Team Through January

January in the UK is a special kind of workplace season. The festive sparkle is packed away, the weather is still doing its grey-drizzle thing, and everyone is back at their desks blinking into the reality of Q1 targets. For businesses, this month sets the tone: you either build momentum early, or you spend weeks trying to coax it back.

One of the simplest ways to get January right is also one of the most overlooked: everyday workplace hospitality. When your team can grab a genuinely good hot drink and clean, great-tasting water without effort, they’re more energised, healthier, and more likely to stay in flow, which is exactly what you need in the first stretch of the year.

At Eden Springs UK, we’ve seen it time and again: small daily comforts quietly drive big January results. Here’s how.

The January Reboot

December can be brilliant, but the office Christmas party has a habit of… lingering. Not necessarily in a dramatic way, more in the classic British sense of someone definitely had one drink too many, said something a bit too direct on the dancefloor, and woke up vowing to be a new person by Monday.

The Office Party “Oops, Did I Say That?” Moment

A 2025 Slater and Gordon poll found that one in four workers who attended an office Christmas party admitted to embarrassing themselves in front of their boss. And that makes returning to the workplace a bit…humbling. 

Yes, we’ve all seen how that plays out: the laughs fade, the calendar flips to January, and suddenly it’s time to reset reputations, routines, and energy levels. 

That’s where the right hot drinks setup does something surprisingly important. It creates a fresh start that still feels cosy. January needs momentum, yes, but it also needs warmth, comfort, and small rituals that make winter workdays feel manageable.

What a premium coffee setup changes in real life:

• A psychological reset. Great coffee is an easy “back to business” signal - a tiny daily ritual that helps people step into Q1 feeling new, not dragged.

• Cosy energy against the winter gloom. Think warming milky coffees, hot chocolate, and a proper café-style variety that makes dark mornings a little less brutal. Bean-to-cup machines deliver that quality fast, without queues.

• Better pace, better mood. A reliable, quick hot water dispenser keeps tea breaks simple and smooth - no kettle bottlenecks, no hovering, just a warm drink and back into flow.

January doesn’t need grand gestures. It needs fresh energy that still feels human and good coffee is one of the easiest ways to get there.

Supporting the New Year's Health Resolutions

After the festive period, people come back wanting to feel better, think clearer, and rebuild healthy routines and that “fresh start” mindset is one of the biggest cultural currents of January.

YouGov’s 2025 resolutions research shows that when Brits do set goals, they’re overwhelmingly health-led: 66% of resolution-setters prioritise improving physical health, with big shares aiming to eat healthier (50%), get fitter, and lose weight.That matters in the workplace because those intentions follow people through the office door. Your January teams are in reset mode.

A separate UK survey of New Year’s resolutions found 15% of people list “eating less sugar” in their top goals, and 14% say they want to “drink more water.”So the early-year shift is a specific, practical behaviour change: less sugar, more hydration.Plenty of your staff are actively choosing water, herbal teas, and zero-sugar drinks over the old default of fizzy pop or “just one more” festive leftover.

What this means for your office in real terms:

• Hydration is a productivity tool in winter. Dry heated offices + heavier seasonal food = mild dehydration that shows up as headaches, fatigue, and fuzzy thinking. When water is right there and tastes great, people drink more without thinking about it.

• Sugar habits need easy replacements. If staff are cutting sugar, the office shouldn’t be forcing a choice between vending-machine cola or nothing. Crisp chilled water and hot water for infusions make healthier choices frictionless.

• Inclusive “fresh start” culture. When you offer great water and herbal options alongside coffee, Dry January and low-sugar goals feel supported, not awkward.

How Eden Springs supports the New-Year healthy mode:

• Filtered cold water coolers provide a clean, appealing alternative to sugary drinks and because they’re convenient and consistent, they naturally reinforce those “drink more water” resolutions.

• Hot filtered water on demand makes it effortless to switch to herbal teas and warming infusions that are perfect for January’s cold-weather comfort without the sugar hit. 

Put simply: January is when people try to be healthier on purpose. If your office makes water and soothing hot drinks the easiest option, you help staff keep those resolutions alive and you get a more focused, resilient team in return.

The Winter Momentum Factor That Beats the January Blues

By mid-January, most workplaces hit the same patch: the novelty of “fresh start” fades, the weather is still dark and damp, and motivation can dip. It’s no accident that the third Monday of January is widely referred to as “Blue Monday” - a cultural shorthand for that collective winter slump.

The most reliable antidote is the small daily rituals that make winter workdays feel warmer and more human.

Hot drinks are a huge part of that. In winter, warmth and variety matter. People want indulgent but cosy options - milky coffees, flavoured lattes, and comforting low-sugar drinks that make January feel less bleak.

January is also peak “keep everyone well enough to perform” season. CIPD data shows UK employees now average 9.4 sick days per year, nearly two working weeks, highlighting how much winter health still affects output.

Hydration and warm drinks (herbal teas, infusions) quietly support resilience here, especially when indoor heating and cold weather make people drink less without noticing. HSE guidance emphasises that employers should encourage regular water intake because dehydration harms health and performance. 

So in winter, your drinks station does three jobs at once:

1. Keeps people warmer and more motivated,

2. Rebuilds daily connection after the holidays, and

3. Supports the healthy routines everyone is trying to hold onto in January.

This is how you can keep your winter momentum in the workplace.

A New-Year Upgrade That Fits Your Sustainability Goals

Many businesses kick off January with refreshed sustainability targets. If that’s on your 2026 agenda, workplace drinks are a simple, visible place to make progress quickly.

Eden Springs UK is a certified CarbonNeutral® water and coffee services company, enabling businesses to improve hospitality while aligning with net-zero goals. 

Ready to Give Your Team a January Boost?

January doesn’t have to feel like a slog. With the right coffee and water setup, you can create a workplace that helps people feel better, work sharper, and rebuild momentum from week one.

Contact Eden Springs UK for a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll help you choose the right water cooler and coffee solution for your team so your office runs on real energy, not just good intentions.