What is it about staplers? On my team we all have staplers on our desks. Today a colleague of mine used my stapler at least four times in the space of an hour - although I could be slightly exaggerating the space of time.
I stopped my colleague in their tracks and asked why they continue to borrow my stapler instead of walking a few steps away to the nearby stationary cupboard. The reply was that my stapler was within reaching distance and it was too much effort to walk the few paces to the cupboard.
Hang on a minute...
I've just realised, I've been guilty of this act too. We've created a vicious team cycle - we all take it in turns to run out of staples and then borrow each others' until one of us finally relents and pays a visit to the cupboard to re-stock.
It could be a good couple of months for us to get through everyone's staplers before realising we are all fully depleted and there are no more staples left to borrow.
Can anyone explain this irrational behaviour? We aren't lazy, but when it comes to 'the stapler', we seem to have created a staple habit.
I wonder whether other teams have built up habits over time without realising it? If you've got an amusing team habit, feel free to share so that we don't sound like a bunch of stapleheads.
Comments (3)
Posted by nadia | September 18, 2007 12:52 PM
I too find that my stapler is often abused by my fellow colleagues, nay sometimes even stolen – although they prefer to call it 'borrowing'. I have tackled the latter problem by painting my name on all my stationery in tippex - a bit fiddly, especially with the biros, but it seems to do the trick.
Posted on September 18, 2007 12:52
Posted by Kit Silver | September 19, 2007 11:56 AM
We don't have too much of a problem with staplers, however the IT guy has had his stolen and won't let anybody forget about it, our office problem comes with calculators.
Our dearly departed office manager made sure that everyone had a calculator and all were marked with the company initials and numbered (why would you do this!). However since the departure of the super organised (I like to call anal) office manager the calculators have grown legs and disappeared so the place is now in mathematical chaos.
We all borrow the one or two that are floating around the place but the super sad thing is that none of us, except of our stats analyst use our heads. As soon as someone has to do even simple mental arithmetic they turn into quivering wrecks, until someone makes the grand suggestion that they should use their mobile phone and then order is restored.
Posted on September 19, 2007 11:56
Posted by Michael Wolfe | September 24, 2007 3:05 PM
Here's a cube etiquette post I did a couple of months ago - more on the lighter side...
http://careerrevolution.blogspot.com/2007/07/cube-etiquette-how-bad-can-it-reallly.html
Posted on September 24, 2007 15:05