The Color of Water

The color of water is changing in my office. For years it has been free, dispensed in two brands of bottles from vending machines. The brands will remain nameless since I do not have any sponsorships, but the water was clear, pure, and refreshing in these bottles. At any moment of the workday, you could have fresh spring water to facilitate the creative mind of a software engineer. Also, there were free sodas. I am not a big soda drinker, so this was always of minor consequence, but I am sure my coworkers loved the free soda cans. But the company has decided to change the color of water into a non-free shade. In the memo that accompanied this announcement, the company said, naturally this will help us save money. So apparently the shade of water is now slightly green with the greenbacks the company will save by not providing water. Part of me wonders if I get dehydrated on the job, can I sue for workers comp? Probably not.... they will contend that I could have purchased water to avoid dehydration. But we all know what this really means. It really means that I will bring a nalgene bottle from home filled with my own water, and drag it around to conference rooms, and hope that I don't accidentally leave it somewhere. And now that we have started down this slippery slope, I can see a future time where I get dressed for work in cargo pants, with my nalgene bottle attached via a carabiner, my laptop strapped to my back with bungee cords and a sleeping bag rolled tight underneath, my mess kit and utensils stashed in another pocket, and my boots prepared to handle any customer situation that comes up.

To be honest, this is simply a sign of a failing economy. When the economy was going through the tech boom in the late 1990's, companies offered perks like free drinks, snacks, and foosball machines, to attract talent. When the bubble burst, companies went out of business or scaled back. The free drinks were the last hold out from the fantastic perk era, and now that we are back in a recession, they are finally saying good-bye.

(The Color of Water is a memoir that has nothing to do with free water in the workplace).