The Agenda
Office Invaders – The Kid
It’s natural that we love our children but despite our protestations that our child is the world’s most adorable angel, other people may not agree— least of all our fellow office workers. Ostensibly to keep it out of the way, the kid’s owner will park it on a chair in front of a computer, shove some fizzy drink in its hands and switch on a brightly coloured DVD. For the foreseeable future this hyperactive whirligig will laugh hysterically at whatever juvenile rubbish it is hypnotised by, before being whipped up into such a glucose-fueled frenzy that it will eventually show off its piercing impression of a slaughterous aerial battle to everyone in the office. By the end of the day, most guys have dumped their girlfriends over the phone. The embarrassed owner takes the writhing animal under his arm and drags it off into the night never to bring it out in public again. Illustration by Warwick Johnson-Cadwell

Books – Dealing with the Employee/Customer/ Boss from Hell
by Shaun Belding
At some time or other, we all have to deal with difficult people, whether it is an inconsiderate boss, a lazy employee or a demanding customer. In work especially, it is important to deal with these people with tact, to avoid getting yourself into trouble, decreasing morale in the office and, in extreme cases, being fired. The titles of Shaun Belding’s series of books may lead you to believe that you have some pointless, ‘wacky’ read in store, but they are, in fact, very pragmatic. Using simple allegories, stories and good old common sense, he is able to talk you through the realities of the situation, which you may not see clearly in your frustration. The books also encourage self analysis. Think about it—are you the employee, customer or boss from hell? Out 29 September. £8.99 (€12.99) each

Just Chill Out!
Seeing as you are on the plane right now, it seems you don’t suffer from this problem so much, but a recent study by Sterry Communications has revealed that as many as 74% office workers experience anxiety about their work while on holiday. Other worrying statistics that came out were that 36% of employees will actually cancel, or at least postpone, their break to keep abreast of work, and 10% simply do not trust people enough to delegate. While worrying about work is in many cases natural, 40% of those who answered the questionnaire claimed that worrying about work ruined their time away. An arrogant 1% were convinced that their office couldn’t run effectively without them. Finally, a staggering 83% of respondents claimed to have done some kind of work-related activity while on holiday. John Fox, sales director at Sterry Communications, recommends you forget work and use holidays to completely unwind.

Nerds to the Rescue
It is something everyone can relate to: bashing away at your keyboard, you are producing some work of unparalleled genius when something completely inexplicable happens, the screen goes *ping!* and the lights go out. Oh, the seething frustration at knowing that there is no way you can solve this mystery problem. Never fear, for a new breed of studious superheroes is here to save you from your plight. Meet the Geeks-on-Wheels, a gallant band of techies who, at a call of distress, will jump in their trusty Nissan Micras and come to your aid. Capable of travelling anywhere around London, one of these saviours can be by your side simply by calling 0800 107 4110 when things go pear-shaped. For more information, visit www.geeks-on-wheels.com.

TECHNOLOGY
PalmOne LifeDrive
You’ve been waiting for years, ogling cool gadgets in sci-fi movies and wishing that truly dynamic palmtop technology were feasible. Well the wait is over. PalmOne’s new device is firmly aimed at the business traveller on the go. That is, it offers as many facilities that bring your office into your hand as it does to entertain when you are simply sitting on the train or in the departures lounge killing time.

With a nice big screen, which can be viewed length- and widthways, and plenty of memory (enough for 1,200 office documents, 6,000 emails, 1,000 photos, 300 songs and 2.5 hours of video) users can access practically anything from their desktop while on the go. To further keep you plugged in to all the latest that’s going on, you can receive emails any time you are near one of the growing number of Wi-Fi spots in Europe. £298.99 (€432) www.palm.com

Toshiba Libretto U100
This tiny laptop from Toshiba is so adorable, you’ll fall for it at first sight. Weighing in at less than a kilogram and measuring just 20cm across, it is one step up in size from your standard PDA, but with a laptop-style design that makes it a lot more user-friendy.

OK, you can’t quite fit the Libretto in your pocket, but with all its talents that’s the least of your worries. For a start, its 60GB worth of hard drive matches most stay-at-home laptops byte for byte in the memory stakes—you can genuinely get all your important documents and programs on here. The attachable DVD-drive is particularly exciting and great for whiling away those interminable train journeys with a movie. It might also shut the kids up in the car. Of course, being so small the QWERTY-keyboard requires some accurate typing that some may find tricky and its size does mean that its main raison d’être is travel. Strictly a Mini-Me for your home computer, but a lovely one at that. £1,249 excluding VAT (€1,710) www.toshiba-europe.com