Workplace Commentary

A Day in the Life of...a Data Analyst

Posted on May 05, 2016

Our A Day in the Life of Series continues today with a new post - A Day in the Life of a Data Analyst. Here at The Workplace Depot we enjoy being involved in the community and like to think together we can make a difference. Recently we have started offering 12 weeks placements and internships to students from the University of Nottingham. Placements and internships represent a great opportunity for both students and graduates to get the much needed work experience.

Ideas to Improve Workplace Productivity

Posted on February 11, 2016

Workplace productivity is not just a fancy management term. After working under different organisations, I learned that an organisation’s growth and profitability depends on several factors, but arguably the most important one is the team’s productivity. If your team is motivated and productive, chances are you will go through every obstacle and grow into one of the most respectable names within the niche.

A Day in the Life of... an eCommerce Executive

Posted on January 26, 2016

This week is Steven's turn on our A Day in the Life of Series. If you are keen to jump into digital marketing or eCommerce, or simply looking for a new challenge in this area, Steven's Day in the Life of... can perhaps inspire you. Morning @8.45am…. I start my day, only living 10 minutes away I have no excuse being late. Once I arrive, I put my lunch away, grab some much needed morning caffeine and get to work (unless it’s a Friday, I spend 5 minutes persuading the warehouse lads to fetch breakfast).

A Day in the life of... a Finance Manager!

Posted on December 29, 2015

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year and as some of you might be already trying to get back on track, we thought a new blog post on our A Day in the Life of would be a good idea! So far we've covered A Day in the Life of... an Operations Manager. This week we are getting on with Steve, our Finance Manager. He agreed to share with us some of his daily work routine. Morning @8.45am ....I arrive at work give or take 5 minutes -, after hopefully negotiating the early morning madness that is Nottingham rush hour. Usually channel hopping between local Radio station to find out the news and sport. Then settle on some music as I near to work...and always very high volume @9.30am.... look at early morning e-mails , especially China and reply to questions or plan future deliveries. Answer any further e-mails and then prioritise reports and prepare for the days meetings @11.00am...mainly in meetings or report preparation, or monthly analysis - payments, debtors etc Afternoon @13.00pm....Lunch...

A Day in the Life of … An Operations Manager

Posted on December 10, 2015

This week we are offering you an insight into what the life of an Operations Manager might be like, in an industry where effective operations are paramount. We've asked Michelle, our Operations Manager to outline what her day to day tasks might include. Michelle has been with us for not less than 16 years this December! A Day in the Life of ... an Operations Manger Morning @8.45am .... Arrive, unless on the early shift in which case I would have already been here for an hour. First thing I do is log into to all the platforms I need for the day ahead so our order processing system, our website, and various emails Once these are logged in and ready all emails are checked and replied to @9.30am...Have a look at my contact management system to see who I need to speak to and why, this could be a call to check a customers order has been delivered ok, to chase a supplier, to discuss a quotation or just a general call to see how they are doing @11.00am...Deal with any other emails that have arrived...

The Importance of Breaks at Work

Posted on October 20, 2015

You are a dedicated employee and you enjoy your job. So, you sometimes skip lunch break and breaks at work because you want to do a great job. Well, guess what! You can do an even better job if you know the secret of and the importance of taking breaks at work. How Work Breaks Help Your Productivity According to a study headed by John Trougakos, Professor of Organizational Behavior at the University of Toronto, when employees take lunch breaks at work, they become less fatigued and have more energy to offer their employers. They also increase their ability to focus and problem solve. Trougakos’ study also found that taking time off during breaks and interacting with your coworkers made for a more positive work environment for everyone. A more positive work environment equates with less stress for you. Less stress leads to higher productivity and problem-solving abilities for everyone. Another study conducted by C. Thøgersen-Ntoumani, et. al. at the School of Psychology and Speech Pathology...

Create The Ideal Staff Room

Posted on August 20, 2015

A letter from the people in our warehouse Staff Room - A Little Rest And Relaxation Like most people, I need a place to go when I take a rest from working hard. That’s why I value having a staff room. There, I can find some respite and then return to work refreshed. Personally, I have a job where I stand on my feet throughout my shift, so it’s really important to me that the staff lounge has comfortable seating. Also, this is where I prefer to eat my lunch. I like having a designated space that’s just for taking lunch or having a cup of coffee. So, I also like when there are tables in the staff room. Many employers in the past haven’t understood the importance of such a place for the staff. Little do my employers know that I took into account what they could provide in terms of a staff room when I decided whether to look for another place of employment. Designing A Great Staff Room in The Workplace To me, getting comfortable chairs and adequate tables are the first...

Workplace Dress Code and Uniforms: What is the Benefit?

Posted on August 06, 2015

Having an workplace dress code in your workplace will often depend on where it is that you work. For example, working in a business office or law firm will require you to dress professionally. Meanwhile, working at a grocery store, warehouse, restaurant or even in the army will almost always require you to wear a uniform. Now the question is - are these clothing choices beneficial to the workplace in general? I'll quickly go through the benefits of both a workplace dress code and wearing a uniform. Uniforms in the Workplace Often, when people wear a uniform, we know exactly where they work and what they do. However, people who wear uniforms can also be "looked down upon" because a uniform can imply that they work at a low-paying job, although this is no longer the case. It happens though, regardless of whether or not it is true. But the benefits of uniforms are numerous to all businesses, regardless of the industry and as a business owner you could consider introducing them after...

5 Tips to Develop Good Workplace Habits

Posted on August 04, 2015

Whether they are positive or negative, you have a list of workplace habits. You may not have ever thought that you have them, but you have inevitably developed some over time. It is human nature to fall into habits, but it is up to you to make sure that you develop good habits in order to create consistency in your life. Good habits improve your productivity at work. They’ll help make you a better employee. We all know that better employees make for better companies. Here are a few ways to start working towards more positive and productive workplace habits. Set Goals You can’t have good habits without setting achievable goals. You need to have goals because then you can decide what habits you need to develop in order to meet them. For example, perhaps your goal is to finish a large project within a year’s time. Once you have made that goal, you can develop small habits that take you toward it. You may work on that goal during certain hours each day, for example. Start...

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...

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 It’s evident that coffee helps increase productivity at work, whether you’re sleep- deprived or whether you’ve had a peaceful eight-hour slumber. A group of researchers studying night-shift workers found that caffeinated workers made fewer mistakes than decaffeinated ones. A big presentation coming up? I would certainly down a cup right...

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 being empowered with the tools needed to accomplish any task and overcome obstacles that employees may encounter at work each day. Here are easy ways to make your work days easier and your employees happier: 1. Set goals. With goal-setting, you are giving yourself and your employees a direction that will guide their actions within the company. Having a clear sense of vision and direction motivates employees to be ...