Personnel Today has a funny article (hat tip Workblogging) about the rise in copier service requests around the holidays -- thanks to some inventive worker fun at holiday parties.
Photocopier manufacturers are anticipating a 25% rise in call outs over the festive period because of workers abusing the machines.
Manufacturer Canon said a third of its technicians called out over the Christmas period have to deal with the consequences of staff sitting on photocopiers to make pictures of their bottoms.
In response, the company has increased the thickness of the glass on the machines from 3mm to 4mm to take the strain.
David Smith, marketing director at Canon UK, said: "People obviously let their hair down at Christmas time and the photocopier tends to get a bit of extra-curricular activity."
Speaking of holiday parties an article in the Clarion Ledgersays that they can actually be an opportunity as long as you don't play the fool.
Office holiday parties are like blind dates: Wear the wrong shirt, tell the wrong joke or drink one too many martinis and your potentially happy future is over before it began. Each year amid the jovial flow of cocktail franks, gin-and-tonics and choruses of Fill Me Up, Buttercup, someone becomes a footnote in their company's holiday folklore, forever labeled as the guy who thought it would be funny to teach the boss's wife to dance the Macarena.
The delicate task of navigating this half-social, half-professional occasion leaves many employees wishing they could simply stay home.
But according to executive coach Marjorie Brody, the office holiday party is an ideal opportunity to raise your profile at work in a positive way and make connections that can help your career.
"Most people think it's a party, and either they don't want to go or they'll go and just eat and drink with their friends. Both of those are mistakes," Brody says. "It's a chance to be talking to people you don't normally speak to and a good opportunity to create an impression."
The Hire Authority also has an entry about avoiding holiday taboos in the workplace. We didn't see "don't photocopy your bottom" on their list but it probably goes without saying.
