Surprising news from the world of work this week: we are not alone. You might think that depressing window views, identikit desks and challenging relations with IT are a uniquely British office phenomenon, but it turns out the whole world is finding working in an office - how can I put it? - a little trying. So much so that some of us are looking for distractions.
Take the Indians, for example. In what must be my favourite story of the month the Times of India advises eager employees on the ins and outs of sex in the office. Because, as they put it, "almost every individual has nurtured kinky thoughts of getting down and dirty at the workplace". Sure you have.
Luckily, Madhavan Das, a spokesperson for Miditech Productions, has got the situation licked. "We provide employees with a lot of distractions like games, separate rest rooms and adequate facilities, especially for those who work during the night. It is the priority of the organisation to take care of its people because it's natural for them to indulge in such acts. So an impromptu singing session or a quiz contest is called for to give the mind a break and pep one up."
Over on the other side of the world, younger workers are in revolt. In Canada the under-30s are moving from a "do anything" attitude to a "you've got to be kidding" one. And all because they've apparently seen "their father on stress leave and their mother on Prozac and are determined to never make the same mistake". As a result, older bosses are puzzled. And, I would hazard, prone to standing in large corner offices muttering about the youth of today. Tragically, I fear new graduates may be in for a shock: the report also points out that Canada is moving from a seller's to a buyer's recruitment market.
Of course, if the young whippersnappers really can't bear to be told, they could always sneak across the border. In the US, Marilyn Moats Kennedy reckons Generations X and Y are simply refusing to play by the office rules, starting with a refusal to follow instructions. "If a 50-year-old says it ['This needs to be done'] to a 35-year-old, the younger worker hears a suggestion, not an order." Goodness. If my boss said to me: "This needs to be done," I'd do it. Pronto.
Lastly, good news from Blighty. The Evening Standard reports that a London midwife has set up a company to offer antenatal care, desk-side. Midwife Lexie Minter explains that while GPs, physiotherapists and dentists have provided care in the office environment for years, no one had previously thought of offering midwifery. "This service is tailor-made for the demands of the City. It gives value for money with the minimum of hassle and time." Unlike the resulting baby, of course.
