Category Archives: Workplace space
The fine art of flattery
DO you know anyone who is immune to flattery? Me neither. I am certainly not. Bring it on, I say. Lay it on thick and fast, and I will lap it up. After all, it’s as the granddaddy of self-improvement, … Continue reading
Laugh more, produce more
IS it me or are people generally looking more miserable every day? Glance at the motorists around you the next time you’re inching your way to work. Observe the profusion of down-turned mouths and the wretched fields of furrowed brows. … Continue reading
Group affirmation, also known as the “lurve bath”
GROUP affirmation, I imagine, is something like I imagine group sex to be, I imagine: some get more out of it than others, I imagine – not that I think about it often, really. This occurred to me as I … Continue reading
New Year resolutions of a young writer
ALMOST exactly 25 years ago, I was employed as an assistant editor and journalist at a small publishing company in Cape Town. It was essentially my first ‘real job’ after university and, to celebrate the appointment, I bought myself a … Continue reading
Expedite your way up the corporate ladder with better telephone etiquette
I WAS lucky enough – although I did not think so at the time – to sit alongside my boss in an open-plan office in my first job. At the end of my second day at the company, she gave … Continue reading
The longer you work, the more productive you are? Not so, say experts
THE results of a German study conducted by the Institute for Work and Technology (IAT) suggest that the idea that a longer working week leads to greater productivity is a fallacy. The extra hours, it claims, are simply a waste … Continue reading
The good, bad and ugly of office gossip
GOSSIPING, as we all know, is a deadly sin, which is why none of us do it. The subject however, came up recently when a friend entertained me at length with a detailed and “highly classified” tale about some colleagues … Continue reading
The fine art of sucking up
DO you know anyone who is immune to flattery? Me neither. I am certainly not. Bring it on, I say. Lay it on thick and fast, and I will lap it up. After all, it’s as the granddaddy of self-improvement, … Continue reading
Switch off without disconnecting your career
ARE you one of those individuals who were huddled over the cellphone, furtively yet frequently tending to business during your last holiday? Did you assume the SMS-crouch in the corner of the restaurant or pace beyond the reach of the … Continue reading
Business cards – out dated or underestimated?
WHILE at a wine show in Cape Town some time ago, I spent an hour or so observing interactions between producers, marketers and potential buyers. Something I found particularly interesting was the exchange – and often lack of exchange – … Continue reading
Penny Haw 