Keeping hydrated at work: drinking water and electrolytes

When you work in the heat you can lose a lot of fluid through sweat, and if you don’t replace it your body cannot cool itself properly. Dehydration makes heat exhaustion and heat stroke more likely, and it slows your thinking and reactions. In Queensland, a business must provide drinking water for its workers, and every worker needs to keep drinking through the day, not just at smoko.

How much water should you drink at work?

Neither Workplace Health and Safety Queensland nor Safe Work Australia sets a fixed amount, because it depends on the heat, the humidity, how hard you are working, what you are wearing and your own body. Be wary of any one-size-fits-all rule. What the guidance does say:

• Start the shift hydrated. Have a drink before you start, not just when you get to site.
• Drink small amounts often. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland’s advice is to drink small volumes as frequently as possible during work.
• Don’t rely on thirst. Safe Work Australia points out that thirst is satisfied before the fluid you have lost is replaced, so keep drinking even when you don’t feel thirsty.
• Drink more as it gets hotter or the work gets harder, and keep a full bottle with you so water is always within reach.
• Don’t overdo plain water. Drinking very large amounts of plain water can lower the salt level in your blood, which can be dangerous. Small amounts often is the safer habit.

Check your hydration

A simple check is the colour of your urine. Pale yellow, like straw, usually means you are drinking enough. Dark yellow, or not needing to go much, means you need to drink more. Very dark urine, or hardly any, is a sign of dehydration: drink and tell someone. Some vitamins and medicines change urine colour, so use it as a guide alongside how you feel.

Other signs of dehydration include thirst, a dry mouth, headache, dizziness and tiredness. In the heat these can also be early signs of heat illness, so stop, cool down and drink, and tell your supervisor. See the warning signs in our guide to heat stress at work.

Water, electrolytes and other drinks

• Cool water first. It is the main drink for working in the heat.
• Electrolytes when you are sweating heavily. Workplace Health and Safety Queensland recommends replacing electrolytes in high-sweat work, and Safe Work Australia suggests an electrolyte or sports drink for someone who is dehydrated. Use electrolyte drinks as well as water, not instead of it. If you are on a low-salt diet or have a heart or kidney condition, check with your doctor first.
• Go easy on caffeine and energy drinks. Safe Work Australia’s heat guide recommends avoiding caffeinated, carbonated and alcoholic drinks when working in heat.
• No alcohol. It adds to dehydration, and you should not be at work affected by it anyway.
• Eat regular meals. Food helps replace the salt you lose in sweat, and fruit and vegetables add fluid too.

What employers must provide

• Drinking water. A PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, adequate facilities for workers, including drinking water (section 41 of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)).
• Free, close and cool. The approved Managing the Work Environment and Facilities Code of Practice 2021 says clean drinking water must be provided free of charge at all times. It should be easy to get to, close to where hot or strenuous work is done, separate from toilets and washing facilities, and at or below 24°C, for example by refrigerating it, adding clean ice, or shading pipes and containers. It should be supplied so nobody drinks straight from a shared container, such as cups or an upward-jet fountain.
• Construction projects. The principal contractor must make sure an adequate supply of potable, clean and cool drinking water is reasonably available to each construction person (section 315A and schedule 5A of the Regulation).
• Working in heat. Water is only part of managing heat. A PCBU must also ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that people working in extremes of heat can do so without risk (section 40 of the Regulation). The code says cool drinking water is least effective on its own, so pair it with shade, cooling, mechanical aids and changes to when the work is done.

Tips for staying hydrated on the job

1. Fill a large insulated bottle before you leave home and refill it at every break.
2. Keep it within reach of where you are working, not back in the ute.
3. Set a habit, such as a few mouthfuls every time you stop or change tasks.
4. Take your breaks in the shade or air-conditioning, and drink during them.
5. Keep an eye on your workmates, especially new starters, and remind each other to drink.

Our hot weather and hydration toolbox talk covers drinking water, shade and rest and what to do when someone is unwell, ready to run with your crew. For a full heat plan, see the heat stress policy template.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Check the current law or talk to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for your situation.

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