Office Chatter

A school in North Tyneside which allowed its pupils, aged 13-19, to start the day an hour later, has seen absenteeism drop by 27% and general absence by 8%, according to early results.

Someone called ‘SniperXPX’ over at reddit.com has posted a picture of his upcoming April fool: a voice command photocopier.

Negotiations are ongoing to help resolve the dispute between the rail unions and the rail networks, currently the rail union are planning a walk out over a four day period within rush hours, the negotiations are still ongoing however if the walk out does go ahead there is likely to be some significant disruption to train services. We did a quick poll in the office to see how this would affect us. The results mean that we need to be ready for the possible strikes and ensure that all our staff are able to be get to and from the office should the action takes place. Take part of our poll and let us know how you will be affected.

Alastair Darling's final budget seems to offer some hope to small businesses. Of course, the election will be the deciding factor, but there are some encouraging signs.

There's an intriguing little article at MSNBC about which company 'spokescreatures', mascots to you and me, that Americans like most.

The much awaited pre-election budget was presented to the House of Commons yesterday afternoon, but what will you and I get from it? Seems that tax is going up if you are a cider drinker, stamp duty for first time buyers on properties up to £250k have been suspended for this year and next and the fuel duty rise will be staggered over the next 10 months. This is along with a number of other "benefits" which are supposed to help you and I. But just what did you think of the budget and will you benefit from it at all?

CNN have a rather nice gallery of offices in closets. Most of them are just a chair and a desk, but if you're a homeworker, that should be enough to get a lot of your admin done.

I found a fascinating article on the yakuza, Japanese gangsters, and one thing in particular stood out: some people join because racism in Japan can stop them getting into good jobs. Thank goodness we don't have that kind of problem here!

While talks continue today between the Trade Union and BA management we were wondering how many of you would be affected should the cabin crew strike go ahead. Take our quick pole to let us know.

When you are shopping online for goods do you always looks for goods that are recycled? We are all more aware of goods that are recycled or recyclable. But we wondered if you always look for this when shopping.

If you're a small business and feel you've been paying too much for your business rates, then you have until 31 March to appeal to the Valuation Office Agency (VOA). You could be able to claim for a backdated reduction in the rates paid since 2005.

With the date of the general election not far off we wondered how many of you will be casting your vote this year. Take part of our quick survey to let us know if you will be putting your X on that ballot paper this year.

If you've ever wondered how much printer ink is used according to the typeface you choose for your office documents, then young designer Matthew Robinson could have the answer. His Measuring Type experiment may even help you to save money on cartridge costs.

In last Saturday's Guardian, Booker prize winner Hilary Mantel reveals that when words fail her, she seeks consolation in that part of her life that always works: ordering stationery.

Almost four weeks ago I wrote about American CEOs taking an online colour test, designed to tell people their personality type and the careers most suitable for them. Somehow the colours one chooses are supposed to give insight into who you are and your calling and the CEOs tended to pick the same colours.

I was ordering cartridges for two of our printers in the office and was surprised with the number of compatible cartridges that were available to order.  It got me thinking, Do you prefer to use a compatible cartridge or do you stick to the original? 

We saw this image for some letterhead for a company called Nicola Tesla Company and felt somewhat inadequate. If you were a bit more daring what would you do with your company letterhead?

You know how you shout at the TV when a quiz contestant is about to choose the wrong answer and lose thousands? It's the same with business reality TV shows, where a trouble-shooter comes along  to sort out a struggling company. I can tell what's wrong, but the participants can't see it.

News of the earthquake in Chile reminds me of something I read when calls for donations for Haiti, post their earthquake, were all over the news and media.