Melonyce McAfee is the brand new Senior Producer for CNN Living and she aims to make the break room a better place to be.

It’s time for some water cooler talk. No, not gossip about the Real Housewives or the latest office romance. We need to have a chat about the water cooler itself, and its fraught place in office life. It may seem like an innocuous source of refreshment, or a gathering spot to pass the time between tasks, but the water cooler can be a wellspring of workplace weirdness.

Confusing queues
We’ve all come upon the scene: There’s Dan, elbow cocked up on the butt of the water jug, chatting up Gina - a road block between you and the sweet nectar. So you wait, reluctant to intrude on their conversation but unsure when it will break up and you’ll be free to fill up your Nalgene. Awkward.

Lax jug replacement
Few things are more irritating to a parched person than hitting that blue lever with no results. Why, oh why, do our office mates feel justified in draining the last of the water into their Dixie cups but neglect to replace the empty jug?
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