It's been a great week for the work-shy: the man in the sky obliged with buckets of the white stuff conveniently timed to coincide with the rush hour. The resulting snow day(s) have been a delight and I shall be writing to my local council to say it has just the right number of snow ploughs (any more and things might run as normal).
However, once the excitement had subsided, the analysis began. The Federation of Small Businesses warned the economy would suffer, while the TUC warned bosses not to force employees to take annual leave in lieu of snow days. But what caught my eye was the warning from solicitor Charlotte Pegman that, if you do bravely battle into work and then have an accident, your employer is not liable: "If you slip, in the car park at work or in the entrance to the office, or, if you work outside, doing your daily work, then unless your employer had the time, resources and ability to clear the snow and should have done so, there is no absolute right to damages," she said. "Employees must take steps to mitigate their own risk."
I think I had better stay at home next week too, then – it will mitigate my risk of getting wet in the ice puddles.
Of course, the rest of the world has been at work as usual. Sort of. The Boston Globe reports that the trend for remote working over an iced caramel macchiato is having some unusual consequences, with Wi-Fi workers treating their local coffee shop like a real office. Fighting over the best desks or whether to have the blinds up or down is common; gossip and table hierarchy is rife. My favourite incident is that reported by Dave Gordon, an art director who uses his local Starbucks as a conference room. People, you see, start giving advice, usually butting in with: "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear ... " Happily, Dave ignores them – just like in a real office.
Elsewhere, V. Jean Maye reckons this is just the moment to recommend seven steps to promotion (and there I was thinking I needed seven steps to avoid redundancy). Highlights include "stay on the radar" and "present yourself professionally". Perplexingly, "suck up to the boss" and "stay out of trouble" – the two most tried and tested methods of securing promotion – just don't feature.
Lastly, a (very) quick word on Carol Thatcher. My learned colleagues have already set out the issues in detail elsewhere, but I just wanted to give a quick work perspective on proceedings. You see, had Carol read more of the advice we regularly hand out on these very pages, the whole thing could have been avoided. It is quite simple really: think of a green room as an office Christmas party. Is it more relaxed than normal? Yup. If you do something inappropriate and – crucially – one of your colleagues reports you, will you be in trouble with the boss? Almost certainly. Carol, we sincerely hope you find that helpful in future.
