Office

Unspoken Rules for Working in an Office

Posted on November 01, 2014

For those of us who work in an office, there can be times when sitting at a desk all day is actually not as peaceful as you might think. For the majority of us, we go to work, sit at our desks, complete our daily tasks and converse with our colleagues. Unfortunately, sometimes, some of our fellow employees/employers have other ideas. We have picked out the top 10 unspoken rules for working in an office, please read on to see if you agree! Don’t do any of the following: Leave all your dirty dishes in the sink – it’s not a pleasant sight, and who else are you expecting to clean up after you? Just a quick scrub won’t consume too much of your day; it will also benefit the general hygiene of the office kitchen! Another amongst kitchen etiquette includes heating up fish in the microwave, or the general consumption of smelly foods at your desk. Although eggs and onions might add extra flavour to your meal, they are unpleasant smells that could make the whole office have an unwanted odour. Come...

Small Steps to Improving Your Office Appearance

Posted on September 08, 2014

Unless you are a lucky employee at one of the Top 5 Seriously Cool Places to Work discussed in one of our previous blog posts, you might find that your surroundings are that of an average looking office. Of course, not all establishments have the funds or space available to set up nap pods and tree-houses in their work environments, or dish out unlimited free food in the company canteen, but there is certainly other equipment available for more simple steps to making your office feel friendlier for both staff and visitors. Here at The Workplace Depot, we meet with clients in our boardroom, which contains a fridge filled with refreshments and a large TV focused in the centre of the table in order to project presentations easily and effectively. Although these are small features, we like to think they add a bit of a personal touch to this part of our office, and we might get remembered for this. Considering the fridge filled with goodies is not necessarily the most practical of products...

Listening to the Radio at Work – Increasing Productivity

Posted on September 02, 2014

Like most people, I like to have music on whilst working; one of the few facts I like to throw around is that listening to music, particularly in the workplace, increases productivity. But one of the first, troubling choices we have to make of the day includes which radio station to listen to. Admittedly, if you work in an office for 8 hours a day, it’s hard to avoid hearing songs getting repeated (which is one of our pet peeves here at The Workplace Depot!) Consequently we like to mix up our playlists every now and again (if you are intrigued give Top 50 Workplace Songs and Top 20 Motivational Workplace Songs a read/listen). However, on the days when no one really wants to put a lot of effort in to choosing some songs to form a playlist, we let a radio station do it for us. As our main office is based in Bingham, radio stations local to us include: Capital 96.2FM Gem 106 FM Smooth Radio 106.6 FM BBC Radio Nottingham Although we are sometimes partial to a bit of Radio 1 too! Music to...

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 it up a bit: Add new wheels – a smoother glide across the room and added colour can make your chair more exciting. Footrest – it can be difficult to decide how to rest your...

Workplace First Aid Kit - What Should It Contain?

Posted on May 29, 2014

As an employer it is your responsibility to maintain the safety of all employees within the workplace. Ensuing you provide a first aid box which meets British Standards is essential, however the decision on what your first aid box contains depends entirely on what you assess your needs to be. As a guide where the working environment is ranked as low risk (e.g. an office), HSE recommend a minimum stock should be: - a general guidance leaflet - 20 sterile plasters (of assorted sizes) - two sterile eye pads - four sterile triangular bandages - six safety pins - two large sterile wound dressings - six medium-sized sterile wound dressings - three pairs of disposable gloves It is highly recommended that you DO NOT keep medicines and tablets within a workplace first aid kit. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) only provide this as a minimum recommendation, employers may wish to refer to British Standard 8599 which provides more information on the contents of first aid kits within the workplace...

The Need for Cable Protectors at Events

Posted on May 27, 2014

No matter what the event; indoors or outdoors, big or small, village fete or music festival, regardless of the nature and purpose of the event all loose leads and cables pose their own risk to property and life. Carrying out advanced planning and risk assessing, ensuring cable protection is thoroughly thought threw is vital. If you are thinking about setting up your own event, you need to make sure that you understand that you as the organiser are legally accountable for any accidents that may occur during the event, so having cable protectors in place is essential. Events can be so hazardous that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has dedicated a section of their website to cover the topic, click here to read more. Cable protectors are mostly rubber or plastic material cases, enabling you to keep your cables safe and secure, preventing trip hazards to users and damage to the property using the cable. Also used outside, these protectors can cover leads and allow users to drive...

Office First Aid - What First-Aiders and Employers Ought to Know

Posted on May 22, 2014

Lisa Driver, the 47-year-old mother of two has no recollections of the fall that made her an epileptic. Her friend Elaine Bristow remembers they were not drunk, although Mrs. Driver had consumed five Vodka and Cokes. When they were waiting for a taxi, Lisa went into the private car park of the Roman Painted House in Dover, looking for "somewhere to wee". She tripped and fell over a 2-feet high wall and fractured her skull. She later sued the Roman Painted House for £1 million, claiming that the site was dangerous. It was only last week, after almost 6 years of the accident that her claim was rejected and the Roman Painted House was absolved of the liability. The incident underlines the importance of maintaining safety in and around the workplace, regardless of how benign your line of work may be. Making first-aid arrangements is an essential part of health and safety around the workplace. First Aid at Work - Everyone's Responsibility, but the Axe Usually Falls on the Employer All employers...

Hosepipe Protectors and Ramps – Your Problems Solved

Posted on May 21, 2014

I passed by a construction site the other day and they had a hosepipe running across the road. In an effort to make the hose secure, somebody (probably by the orders of the site manager or safety officer) had passed it through a steel pipe. The improvisation would have been inspiring, but the pipe was creating a rude bump for the vehicles driving on the road, apart from being a tripping hazard for pedestrians, especially during the dark hours. Whoever put it there probably didn’t know that hosepipe protector ramps had long been invented. What Are Hosepipe Protector Ramps? Hosepipe protectors and ramps are simple and inexpensive pieces of equipment that make it possible for you to get a hosepipe from point A to point B without risking damage to the pipe, causing bumps on the road, or creating a tripping hazard on the walkway that lies between points A and B. The double sided ramp makes vehicular and wheeled movement smooth and protects against accidental trips and falls. These protectors...

Medical Scissors for First Aid Kits

Posted on January 27, 2014

If you look through the list of contents for the first aid kits on this site, you will notice that some of them contain scissors and some contain ‘shears’. Most people think of sheers as something you cut hedges with, so we did a bit of research into the history of scissors to try and find out more about the different types. Scissors were invented in ancient Egypt in around 1500 BC. The oldest known scissors were discovered from archeological digs at what was once Mesopotamia. These are 3000–4000 years old "spring-scissors", comprising two blades joined by a curved flexible bronze strip. Between that day and now, scissors have come a long way, finding thousands of applications in fields such as engineering, agriculture, grooming, and medical, apart from regular everyday use in homes and offices. Medical scissors today are made from stainless steel, nitinol, titanium and tungsten carbide. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, each suitable for a particular use. The type of medical...

Awesome Office Organisation Ideas

Posted on January 15, 2014

The environment where you work has a huge impact on your work productivity. Spending all day every day in the office can make you lose concentration, especially if the place is not arranged in a way to make you feel comfortable. Therefore, it's important to keep your office organised in order to be able to focus on the important things and actually get things done. There are several things you can do to make your office a more lovely place that gets you in the right mood to work effectively. Here are our tips on how to improve the environment at your place of work and organise things so that you don't get distracted by unimportant factors. De-Clutter Your Desk Perhaps the very first thing you should start with when trying to organise your office is to de-clutter your desk. A desk can be quite a distraction, having in mind all of the office tools and piles of paper that are covering most of the surface of your desk, making the whole office look like chaos. According to a survey led by the...

Hazards in the Office

Posted on January 07, 2014

You don’t have to be rock climbing, skiing or playing rugby to have a injury serious enough to be hospitalized. There are plenty of hazards around the office that could cause health problems ranging from minor respiratory problems to serious traumas and chronic, terminal illnesses. The following hazards might force you to take a second look at your office from a new, safer angle. Air The stale office air that we breathe can give rise to numerous minor or major health problems. The recycled office air can be swarming with viruses exhaled by a sick person. Some of these viruses can survive up to 72 hours in the warm and unventilated office air and attack healthy employees. Cough, cold and flu are the common infections transmitted through the office air. Dry, heated air can cause respiratory problems and trigger asthma attacks. Breathing in a confined space can cause people to inhale air with lower amounts of oxygen and higher concentrations of carbon-dioxide, leading to headaches, dizziness...

List of Essential Office Stationery Supplies

Posted on August 14, 2013

The paperless office has been promised for decades. In reality, every business still runs on stationery. Signing invoices, annotating reports, organising files, sending letters: physical documents and the supplies that support them remain part of daily office life.