Not Just Stationery - Your Complete Office Solutions Company

On this page you will find many useful articles and guides. We will be continually updating this page. If you have any suggestions we would also welcome those. Use the quick links below to access what you want to read.

Useful Links (we are not responsible for content of external websites)
Dates to Remember 2006
The Importance of an Ergonomic Office
Basic Time Management

Recycle More
The Ergonomics Society
UK National Work-Stress Network
National Workplace Bullying Advice Line
Commission for Racial Equality
ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service)
Health and Safety Executive
NHS Plus - Health at Work
Equality Direct
Department for Trade and Industry: Working Parents
Foreign and Commonwealth Office

All dates are subject to change and regional and institutional variation.

1st January: New Year Holiday (UK and Republic of Ireland)

14th February: St Valentine's Day

1st March: St David's Day (Wales)
17th March: St Patrick's Day (Republic of Ireland)
17th March: Holiday (Northern Ireland)
25th March: Clocks Go Forward
26th March: Mothering Sunday

1st April: Beginning of the Financial Year
17th April: Easter Monday (UK and Republic of Ireland)
23rd April: St George's Day (England)

1st May: May Day Holiday (UK and Republic of Ireland)
29th May: Spring Holiday (UK)

5th June: Holiday (Republic of Ireland)
18th June: Father's Day
21st June: Longest Day

12th July: Holiday (Northern Ireland)

28th August: Late Summer Holiday (UK)

29th October: Clocks Go Back
30th October: Holiday (Republic of Ireland)
31st October: Halloween

12th November: Remembrance Sunday
30th November: St Andrew's Day (Scotland)

21st December: Shortest Day
25th December: Christmas Day (UK and Republic of Ireland)
26th December: Boxing Day (UK)
26th December: St. Stephen's Day (Republic of Ireland)

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Ergonomics is the study of people and their working conditions - Much time is spent in an office environment, using workstations, chairs and other furniture so it’s important to ensure the maximum comfort and efficiency in your office for the sake of your health and performance. Uncomfortable working environments and bad posture can lead to injury and health problems. This in turn leads to lower productivity and time off.

Working conditions should be designed around the workers themselves, and remember that prevention is better than cure. When buying new equipment and furniture, take your time and research well, keeping your staff’s needs foremost.

Putting Ergonomics into Practice -

Matching the workplace to the comfort needs of your workers is good ergonomic practice. By creating an ergonomic office you can reduce the potential of your workers developing physical problems, which affect productivity and attendance, and emotional problems not to mention would-be compensation claims. Well-designed offices with carefully chosen office furniture is a positive step for the health and morale of your employees.

Seating -

Every day, hours will be spent sitting in your chair, so the more you can spend on good office chairs, the better. It’s design will affect the way you work and for how long. When choosing office chairs, take into account how long you will spend in it at any one time and the total length of time every day. Look for comfort, adjustability and finish. Modern office chairs cater for a wide range of uses – from typists and operators chairs to executive leather chairs. All are designed with a particular purpose in mind. Ensure that the chair you buy maintains the correct posture –

Wedges make the user lean forward so that the knees are lower than the hips.

Height adjusters help to maintain the correct level of the user in respect to the desk and the keyboard.

Lumbar support assists back posture. Lumbar rolls can be used to provide additional support.

Workstation -

The basic idea is that the workstation should be fully adjustable, mobile and versatile. Every person is different and will have different needs.

Important elements are desk height, shape and size. Ensure that the user is sitting directly in front of their monitor, whilst maintaining comfort and a distance of at least 25cm from the eye to the screen.

Make sure there will be enough desk space for all necessary items. There should also be plenty of room to adjust the monitor, keyboard and mouse in order to adopt a comfortable working position and correct posture.

Hands will benefit from using wrist rests for the keyboard and mouse. These can be either gel or foam and will help prevent RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).

For those who spend a lot of time on the phone, a cradle can be used to take strain from the neck. You may also want to use phones with hands-free speakers. As for the legs, pressure can be effectively moved from the feet and calves by using a footrest.

Lighting -

Make sure this is indirect, and flexible to suit the needs of individuals. Use blinds and shades in the office to fully control outside light. Also use monitors that can be angled to suit the user, and purchase anti-glare filters; these are relatively cheap.

Ensure that the monitor is not affected by direct sunlight as this will strain the user’s eyes. If natural sunlight is not available, use daylight effect strip lights instead. They provide significantly more light than standard strip lights.

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Ever have days when you get nothing done, despite a huge effort... when your in tray seems to grow far faster than your best endeavours can slice it down... and you reach the end of the day feeling frustrated, exhausted and defeated? You need a basic course in Time Management

Planning your work:

Spend one week creating a detailed diary of what tasks you do and how long you spend on them & identify where you lose time. Review the responsibilities of your job and write a list of tasks you regularly do.

Prioritise this list : The 80/20 rule states that only 20% of the things you do during your day really matter. That 20% produce 80% of your results. Use this 80/20 rule to work out which 20% will get you maximum results. This prioritisation is the key to time management, with deadlines to each task.

Prepare a list of goals you hope to achieve to progress your job and prioritise these. The goals should be realistic and achievable. Career goals should stretch you but not break you.

Review these lists once a week.

Getting on with it

- Deal with top priority tasks first.
- Avoid procrastination.
- Get it done!
- Resist trivial tasks.
- Restrict downtime to set breaks on your schedule.
- If you have a real block about a task, break it down into smaller chunks that you can handle.
- Make the most of technology - use email to communicate as it's faster.
- Set yourself clear rewards.
- Finish the job before setting out on another.

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