February 2009 - Guru Blog

Thinking about the Royal Mail tends to send Guru a horrible, livid purple colour. But not today. Rather than the usual explosive, angry snorts, this story elicited, instead, gentle sighs and a tear or two. Not a response generally associated with the cynical blue one. What has prompted this gooiness of eye? News that a Scottish postie has saved the...

Desperate times call for desperate measures. Reports in Germany claim a bizarre form of insurance fraud is gaining popularity among hard pressed individuals: self-mutilation. With money tight and the German economy suffering, some insurers have reported a rise in policyholders deliberately harming themselves - or others - and then making a hefty insurance...

The Golden Raspberry Awards - or Razzies - are held every year alongside The Oscars to salute the worst Hollywood has to offer. In honour of these alternative awards, Guru has launched his own HR Oscars - the Blueberry Awards, to recognise all that is rubbish in HR and the world of work. Worst Training Initiative Carlsberg's decision to shut down...

Guru is often asked by disciples: "How do I get ahead at work?" The conventional answer obviously is "hard work, ethusiasm and ambition" - or is it? Another piece of tat from the Institute of Pointless Research has found that one in five British workers would rather have sex with their boss for an instant promotion than put in hard...

Women railway workers on the East Coast line between London and Edinburgh are refusing to wear their new uniform, which includes a see-through blouse that leaves "little to the imagination" of passengers. Perhaps it's an attempt by bosses at National Express to "sex up" their workforce and make travelling by train a more desirable...

Ping! The latest email from the Institute of Pointless Research drops into Guru's inbox. Conference call provider Powwownow (annoying name) surveyed 2,000 UK business people to discover what the real appeal of 'the meeting' was. Other than chocolate digestives (16%) and time out of the office (9%), a fifth revealed they relished the opportunity...

HR's reputation as bearer of bad news is long standing. Workers across the UK will be dreading that call from their manager to 'come down to the HR department for a quick chat'. The sense of dread that envelopes you is tangible, as you make your way slowly down the corridor, down the stairs to the ground floor. (Why is the HR department...