Today’s ‘List Friday’. Since 1987 I’ve been at least partly self-employed. And from 1998 entirely so. Being self-employed is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I was an employee from 1969 to 1998, and it nearly drove me up the wall. I found not being my own boss oh so difficult. So I sympathise with employee office workers. Today’s list? Actually it’s two lists that are linked with each other: the first list is ‘The top 10 office annoyances’. I’m surprised that only two thirds of the 1,836 people surveyed said their stress levels had been increased by office irritations. I thought the figure would be much higher. Number four on the list of office annoyances is ‘The use of office jargon or management-speak’. It leads directly to the related list: ‘The top 10 most annoying pieces of management-speak’. I detest management-speak. I think it’s simultaneously pretentious and lazy. Whilst both these lists were the result of a survey in London, they are extrapolatable to other Western offices. Including Australian ones, judging by this item in the Age a week ago. Me? Though I’m self-employed, I work in an office. And my biggest gripe’s a slow computer. It’s my computer, so it’s up to me to speed it up or replace it. But for the moment I’m content to leave it as is. At least when it’s slow it gives me a reason to whinge. Ho hum.
