Workplace Blog

A True Office Classic

Posted on August 13, 2014

Being involved in my fair share of meetings, I can truly say that you can’t beat a classic. No matter how much technology comes out, nothing can replace the trusted Whiteboard in these situations. Tablets and Smartboards are being rolled out nearly everywhere these days, but I believe that you still need a Whiteboard in your workplace boardroom. The ease of scribbling notes and diagrams onto the board for everybody to see is just simple and very effective. You may say you can do the same with Smartboards, however we all know that technology can go wrong and normally does when you need it most. The simple approach of writing out what you need and then having the ability to erase it easily is brilliant. Another advantage of using Whiteboards, is that they are “green”. They are better than using paper or Smartboards, making it a perfect, cost effective, solution. Finally Whiteboards work perfectly alongside projectors. You are able to view your presentation on screen, whils...

Giving Your Storage a Fresh Look

Posted on August 12, 2014

We’ve all thrown out furniture that we no longer want or need, but what about schools and leisure centres? Have they ever thought of getting new lockers and throwing out the old ones? Well think again. How about taking those lockers and upcycling them, giving them a new home and a new role to play? After crawling the internet for some nice looking, ex-lockers I thought I’d share with you my selected favourites. Lockers obviously come in all shapes and sizes and this one seems perfect to store your shoes in. Nicely decorated and labelled with family member’s names. Credit Pinterest &n...

The Promotion of Smoking in the 1950’s - Times Have Changed

Posted on August 10, 2014

Back in the 1950’s, smoking and cigarettes were actually promoted as being good for you and, to a certain extent, healthy – by doctors! Many posters back in this decade show advertisements for cigarette brands such as L & M, Pall Mall, Camel, Chesterfield, Viceroys and Lucky Strike with a positive message, with references to certain brands being ‘just what the doctor ordered’ and how ‘more doctors smoke camels than any other cigarette!’ Following on from this, more adverts discussed that there was even scientific evidence to suggest certain brands are good for you, as well as how smoking would keep you slim. Times Have Changed Thankfully, times have...

No More Page 3

Posted on August 07, 2014

Twice a year here at The Workplace Depot, we send out an updated version of our catalogue to keep our customers informed of changes to our range of products. With this in mind, we are currently in the process of sending out our Summer/Autumn Workplace Depot catalogue, this time with a twist. The latest catalogue features support for a campaign called ‘No More Page Three’, whose goal is to get The Sun newspaper to stop featuring photos of young, topless women. The idea to support the campaign was sparked off by our sales manager Michelle Day, after being fed up of visiting warehouses and factories 'decorated' with sexist calendars and The Sun’s page 3. As a result, the team at The Workplace Depot thought it might be an interesting idea to make our own page 3 from our catalogue into an advert for the No More Page 3 campaign. Reaction to our advert The team weren't fully confident that the idea...

Barrier Man – The Superhero We've All Been Waiting for…

Posted on August 04, 2014

Not quite Superman, Spider-man or Batman, but a recent Facebook post from popular publishing page ‘The Lad Bible’, has given the world an everyday superhero that may actually be a bit more of a realistic aspiration for 5 year olds! ‘Barrier Man’ gained almost 100,000 likes, over 3,800 shares and 2,500 comments on Facebook when a picture of a worker was posted with the caption ‘The Superhero we’ve all been waiting for’. Of course we shouldn’t take away from the seriousness of Barrier Man’s job and the fact that guys like him are actually providing a service to the public – much like the superhero’s we read about in comics! (Although potentially less life risking). Look closely at the picture below and you can tell that there is work being carried out next to a particularly...

National Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Day

Posted on July 24, 2014

Seeing this in the calendar today and working in an office, I thought that this would be a good topic to talk about. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), also known as “winter depression” due to the symptoms being more obvious within winter. SAD is a seasonal patterned variation of depression. Low mood and a lack of interest in life are the 2 main symptoms of this disorder. Most of you will be surprised to know that this is actually a disorder, most people believe that this is just a myth. The symptoms normally start in autumn, whilst the days are getting shorter and then increase in severity during December, January and February. Once spring arrives the symptoms start to decrease, until they have completely disappeared. What Causes SAD? Unfortunately the cause of SAD isn’t fully understood, however it is known to be linked with the reduction of natural light, due to the shorter days within winter. Without going too scientific – the sunlight affects chemicals and...

Top 10 Workplace Films

Posted on July 20, 2014

No matter what, films will always be watched, whether you take a trip to the cinema or stay at home, you can’t beat a movie marathon (particularly on a Sunday) and a big bowl of popcorn. With this in mind, being The Workplace Depot, we find it fitting to list some great films relating to, you guessed it, the workplace! There surely can’t be a more reliable source than LinkedIn, the online home for all things workplace and career-related, to back up a collated top 10 list of films relating to the workplace. Although we are a fan of this list, of course we have produced one of our own! The Workplace Depot’s Top 10 Workplace Films The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) – Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio portrays Jordan Belfort, a Long Island penny s...

Top 5 Seriously Cool Places to Work

Posted on July 18, 2014

So after seeing some really good looking images of offices and workplaces and hearing about what particular workplaces do to keep their staff motivated, I thought I’d share my particular favourites (obviously not including The Workplace Depot, that blows all of these out the water). So some of the really cool places to work, in my opinion: Google Probably with no surprise to you reading this, Google has got to be on this list. All of Google’s offices are seriously cool, with features within the London office such as: snugs, a roof terrace, an allotment and many different great looking rooms. Photo: Google Inventionland So from the name, we can see that Inventionland brings new products to wo...

The Workplace Depot visit Nottinghamshire Charities!

Posted on July 16, 2014

Over the past week, we at The Workplace Depot have visited a number of charities in and around Nottingham, donating some stock to their organisations in order to build up our commitment to these worthwhile causes helping and supporting their communities. The charities we have visited include: Age Concern, Rainbows, Groundwork, CP Sport, Nottinghamshire Hospice Each of these charities were given a list of stock to choose items from, which we would personally deliver and take the opportunity to have our picture taken with the contacts that...

Are You Sitting Comfortably? – The Importance of Office Chairs

Posted on July 10, 2014

The importance of office chairs may sometimes go unnoticed, however not only can a comfortable chair increase concentration, it is also good for your health... There are not many worse things I can think of than going to work, sitting down on the most uncomfortable chair and knowing you will be there for the next 8 hours! Although it may seem trivial, sitting comfortably at work would surely put you in a better mood and even make you feel more productive. A report from the Continuing Education Unit has found that slouching and similar seated postures can cause backaches, headaches, fatigue and poor concentration, however a healthy posture promotes greater overall comfort and improved awareness. If, like many of us, you are faced with the everyday mundane office chair, why not try one of the following ways to spice...

National Twins, Triplets and More Awareness Week!

Posted on June 30, 2014

When you browse the Internet a lot, it occasionally happens that you do find something worth reading about… Honestly! This morning I happened to come across National Awareness Days and today marks the start of twins, triplets and more week, recognising multiple births across the UK. I think it’s important to acknowledge the rarer among us, although multiple births have been on the rise; the births of twins has risen almost 50% from 1984-2004. With this in mind, I have discovered a few further facts on twins, triplets and more. General and Fun Facts on Multiple Births in the UK 1. Around 98.5% of all multiple births in the UK are twins and more than 9,000 sets of twins are born in the UK each year 2. Worldwide, there are at least 125 million living multiples 3. Up to 22% of twins are left-handed, whereas in the no...

Top 20 Motivational Workplace Songs

Posted on June 27, 2014

Last year, we published a Top 50 Workplace Songs blog with the majority of the songs potentially relating to our mood at work, potential job titles and the main reason why most of us go to work – for money! With this in mind, I have decided to create a new list that focuses more on motivational songs that can be considered work related, in order to help get you through the week. (I know its Friday, but I’m just giving you time to go and make yourself this playlist over the weekend!) Top 20 Motivational Workplace Songs Work – Britney Spears Run the World (Girls) – Beyonce ...