Workplace Blog

Top 5 Workplace Films

Posted on July 30, 2015

We may love to watch movies because they help us escape real life for a few moments. Yet, the popularity of workplace films takes us right back to our desks and keeps us grounded in reality. How Workplace Films Inspire and Motivate Us to Love Our Work Work is always hard. Even if you have your dream job, there are always ups and downs in every office, in every post, in every country across the world. Perhaps that’s why workplace films that inspire and motivate us have become such box office hits in recent years. Here are our top 5 workplace movies that get us inspired and motivated and why we love them. #5: Office Space Roger Ebert reviews the hit film, Office Space, as a “comic cry” of anger towards the hum drum everyday of office life. In spite of the film being a little negative, the determination of the three heroes in the movie does give us a motivational boost. Sometimes it can also help just to have a laugh at the fact that so many office workers across the country can relate to the same struggles of office life. #4: The Social Network The Social Network is one of those films that makes each one of us feel like we could build an empire from our dorm. That’s perhaps why this workplace film debuted at number 1 when it hit box offices in 2010 (according to Box Office Mojo). The film shows the uncertain journey of Facebook’s famous founders as they undergo ups, downs, and roundabouts in their journey to success. It helps prove a point that all you need is a dream and a dedication to pursue professional greatness. #3: The Devil Wears Prada The Devil Wears Prada tells the classic story of the struggle to work hard and advance from the bottom to the top. Although the story revolves around the very specific peculiarities of pursuing a career within the fashion industry, the struggles that the protagonist feels, such as the pressures of a demanding work environment and competition within organisations are transferable to almost every professional field. For this reason, the movie makes it to number 3 in our top 5 workplace movies. #2: The Internship Technology seems to be taking over the workplace. In today’s world, it’s very difficult to get ahead when you aren’t tech savvy. Such is the central plot of the hilarious workplace comedy, The Internship. Two salesmen, whose lack of experience in technology leads them to redundancy, decide to ...

Reasons You Should be Drinking Coffee at Work

Posted on July 23, 2015

Very few office workers can go a few hours, let alone days without their regular caffeine fix. A cup of coffee, be it an Americano, a latte, or an espresso, have often been chalked down as saviours during long working hours, night shifts or getting through sleep-deprived days. But that cuppa mocha latte (my personal favourite) is not only waking you up every morning, it’s doing more wonders than you realize. We have some very big fans of coffee around here at The Workplace Depot and we've put our thoughts together to come up with 8 amazing benefits of coffee (in our opinion of course). So here they are: 1. Coffee Boosts Productivity ...

Five Ways to Make your Job Easier as a Manager

Posted on July 16, 2015

Every company ultimately wants to make their employees happy, and that’s because managers and leaders are aware that happy employees are more productive. Shawn Achor- a Harvard psychology researcher finds that happiness makes your brain work better. Making Your Work Days Easier The best way to make your work easier and your employees happier is to make their work-days better. A better work-day gives them room for creativity and for opportunities to challenge themselves to grow. A better work day doesn’t mean zero stress, but instead, having the right mind-set and be...

A Short History of Computers - Infographic

Posted on July 01, 2015

Computers are indispensable in our daily lives. They have been around for a long time, since the 1940s, to be exact. Our first article regarding the short history of computers was a big hit, so we've decided to turn it into an infographic. But first, a quick recap of computer history. "Who invented the computer?" "When?" "How?" "What is a computer made of?" The first generation of computers were, to be honest, quite massive. First created in 1940s, the computers had to be equipped with magnetic drums in order to store data. They relied on vacuum tubes to control the current of electricity and they were insanely expensive and slow. However, they could run thousands of calculations in one second; for being the first generation, it wasn't all bad news. The next stop on the short history of computers takes us to the second generation. These were created...

Top Workplace Songs- See our First Infographic!

Posted on June 29, 2015

Top Workplace Songs about Jobs, Money and Can-do attitude Our initial blog post on Workplace Songs that has been published in early 2013 turns out to be still one of the most popular. From songs about job descriptions such as Please Mr Postman of The Marvelettes and the incredibly well known Elton John's Teacher I need you to anti-work songs such as Beck's Soul Sucking Jerk and Lou Reed's Don't Talk to me about Work, our top workplace songs cover it all. So we thought, why not turn it into an infographic? But before we start, some Infographic History First! The first infographic in the form of s...

How to Avoid Summer Festival Risks

Posted on June 11, 2015

Summer is the season of fun and merry-making—a time when people love to go out of their homes, bask in the sun and make the best of the good weather, and enjoy time with friends and family. What makes this time of the year even more spectacular is the summer festivals: Glastonbury, T in the Park, High Definition Festival, you name it. They say “summer” so emphatically that every year people look forward to the next one even while the leaves are just starting to fall. Improve Logistics On the other hand, summer festivals often present a logistical nightmare for organizers. Two particular problems stand out: wiring layouts and taking care of litter. I’ve had a lot of experience with how bad wiring can ruin an otherwise splendid concert, and I’ve seen how a huge crowd can turn a perfectly nice field into a complete mess after a concert without strategically placed and easily visible litter bins. Good thing we at Workplace Depot have solutions for bo...

Engineers Day - Awareness Day June 4th

Posted on June 04, 2015

June 4th sees the recognition of Engineers Day and provides the ideal opportunity for schools, institutions and businesses across the UK to promote engineering related activities. Engineering in the UK The UK is currently facing the biggest shortage of engineering skills of the last years, according to Engineering UK. Every year, the UK is set to face a shortage of over 81,000 people with engineering skills at all levels, covering the construction, electricity and civil sectors. Given the situation, the UK is trying to double the number of entrants into engineering across all levels of qualification. While engineering still represents a male dominated career with less than 10% of women engineers, improvements are being made. Numerous schools and high schools have already included in their schedule programmes through which pupils are presented with engineering career opportunities...

Be in Charge With our Laptop Charging Lockers!

Posted on May 22, 2015

There’s nothing worse than being on your phone, laptop or tablet and it running out of battery! Whether you are at work, school or the gym, laptop charging lockers are a revelation for those of us who are always on the go and might not be at home long enough to get a fully powered battery on our electronic devices. Considering technology plays a huge part in our lives today, the majority of people need and depend on devices such as mobile phones and laptops in order to carry out work and personal duties, even when they are on the go. Millions of businesses today use laptops, and keeping them safe and secure from damage should be a top priority. It should be a great comfort knowing that day or night you can leave your laptop with the peace of mind that when you return it will be there and ready for action; with our secure laptop lockers, you can keep your laptops safe when not in use. Our laptop lockers for charging and storing of laptop computers are ideal for I...

National BBQ Week, Fire up the Grill!

Posted on May 20, 2015

It might just be a pleasing coincidence, but this upcoming bank holiday (25th May) falls on the same day that National BBQ Week in the UK begins. In my opinion, the second bank holiday that we are fortunate enough to have in May officially signals the start of summer; we are heading towards the middle of the year and finally some warm, sunny weather is paying a more frequent visit! With this in mind, it might be time to start considering, particularly if you are a business owner of a pub/restaurant or outdoor area, whether you need to whip your beer gardens in to shape and dust off the BBQ for some bank holiday fun in the sun. This year marks the UK’s 19th National BBQ Week (yes this has been a thing for the past 19 years!) commencing between 25th May and 31st May and with around 5 million BBQ’s being held across the week in the previous year, if the rain makes a swift exit and the sun starts shining we will probably see...

The Nottingham Post Business Awards 2015 – Winners!

Posted on May 15, 2015

Last night we were invited to attend the Nottingham Post Business Awards at the East Midlands Conference Centre. “The Nottingham Post Business Awards aim to celebrate success, recognise achievement and highlight the innovative people and companies in Nottinghamshire who are putting our region on the map.” To find out more about these awards, visit their website. The final nominees listed within thirteen different categories were selected from hundreds of entrants, so it was a huge compliment to find out we were amongst those chosen to attend the awards. As nominees in the Retail Business of the Year category, we were very excited to be a part of the night, which was thoroughly entertaining from start to finish. Our category was sponsored by Baker Tilly, a leading national provider of accounting and business services. They stated they were delighted to be sponsoring the award as they work with a number of...

National Walk to Work Week!

Posted on May 11, 2015

Around this time of year, it’s probably likely that half of us are well in to a new routine in terms of fitness and healthy eating, but the other half of us are either still set in our old ways, or had tried to alter them slightly for the New Year but unfortunately gave in to temptation somewhere along the line! Having said this, if you are looking for a good opportunity to take on a new challenge in a bid to become fitter, National Walk to Work Week is perfect for those of us who still need a bit of encouragement when it comes to exercising. Starting today and continuing all week until 15th May, National Walk to Work Week is inspiring those of us in particular who might sit at a desk all day to enjoy a walk to work for the week, with the hope that this will become a more permanent method of transportation – during summer at least! Get to Walk If you’re a daily commuter, or perhaps you would have to set off at 5am to make it to...

Fifty Shades of Grey? Cable Ties all the Way!

Posted on February 18, 2015

Unless you don’t have access to the Internet, or a TV, or the radio… In fact unless you’ve been living under a rock in recent times, you will probably be aware that the new movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, was released in cinemas over Valentine’s Day weekend. In case you happen to be unaware of the movie and its plot, Fifty Shades of Grey was actually released in 2011 as a trilogy of novels. The genre of the novels are ‘erotic romance’, with the storyline tracing the relationship of a college graduate named Anastasia Steele and a young, successful businessman named Christian Grey. The book became a best-seller around the world with regards to its explicit content and references to BDSM, having sold over 100 million copies, as well as being translated into 52 different languages, not to mention it being the fastest selling paperback of all time in the UK. You might be wondering what relevance Fifty Shades of Grey has to The Workplace Depot, but we can confirm that a scen...