H&H Blog

If you’re reading this around lunchtime – and you also happen to be working in an office that’s predominantly red and yellow in colour – you should probably eat something sooner rather than later, or you might be consumed by raging hunger.

Or that’s the idea at least. The ‘Ketchup and Mustard’ theory suggests that the colour red kick-starts our appetite, while the colour yellow elicits joviality and excitement. Together, they’re the perfect partnership in making us hunger for some grub. This theory helps to explain why so many fast food restaurants have brand logos which scream this particular colour couplet. Think MacDonald’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut – there’s no purple, orange, green or pink. Just endless red and yellow. (If you want more proof, just google ‘fast food logos’ – you’ll probably forget any other colours exist). Fast food franchises are perhaps the best examples of how the psychology of colour is used in marketing to prompt a specific reaction – in this case, persuading people to pop in for a bite to eat. And it’s not without precedent – colour is registered by our brains faster than any other form of communication. Needless to say, although our brains are the most powerful computers on the planet, they can be deceptively easily duped by the persuasive power of colour. Studies have shown that up to 90% of our snap judgments about products can be based on colour alone, and if you ever wondered why ‘SALE’ signs in shop windows are always red, it’s because this colour also happens to invoke a sense of urgency (in subtle ‘get-it-before-it’s-gone’ style). All this theory and evidence suggests that colour is a great way to make messages stick. Not only are colourful communications more vibrant and visually appealing, but aligning colour with message can subtly but greatly enhance meaning. However, the psychology of colour is based predominantly on predetermined generalisations. Our individual responses to different colours are also highly personal – and over time our perceptions of colour are (literally) coloured by our unique experiences. What one person associates with the colour green won’t necessarily be the same as someone else. So although colour can help to enhance the meaning of communication, we mustn’t overlook the meaning itself. Otherwise, instead of encouraging someone to buy-in to an idea – we might instead end up making them really, really hungry.

So this weekend marked the return of Easter, and aside from being a religious holiday it’s also the time of year when chocolate Easter eggs come out of hibernation to tempt the taste buds of children everywhere (and the occasional hankering adult’s too).

Those of us who eagerly take part in the annual ritual of Easter egg table-bashing have been doing so since the early 19th Century, but our universal appetite for chocolate has its roots as far back as 1900 BC. To say we have an insatiable penchant for the stuff would be a gross understatement – but chocolate’s benefits go way beyond simply satisfying our sweet tooth.

As well as making us happy by releasing endorphins – the same pleasure-inducing hormones that come from, say, exercising or watching a particularly funny comedian – chocolate (particularly dark) has also been proven to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, protect our skin from sun damage, and contrary to popular belief, is full of beneficial minerals. And that’s not all: it’s also good at keeping us calm and content! What can’t chocolate do?

To be exact, it’s not the chocolate itself which relaxes us, but the polyphenols inside the cocoa. Polyphenols are a group of antioxidants which combat cognitive anxiety and stress – hence why you might feel a sudden craving for chocolate when you’re worried or stressed out.

But the best thing is that because of this, polyphenols can make us more creative. While some people may see creativity as a quality only possessed by a privileged few, according to research, it’s actually deceptively simple to achieve. Studies have shown that the most creative people have simply mastered the art of naturally lowering their inhibitions – and in doing so, they declutter their brains and allow ideas to flow much more quickly and freely.

So essentially, if you’re stuck in a hopeless mental dead-end, stop worrying about it so much and you’ll probably find yourself suddenly full of ideas.

This proves that not only can chocolate make us more creative, but more productive too – stimulating an open, unobstructed, anxiety-free stream of consciousness. Chocolate is literally brainfood. 

And the very best thing we can all take from this? While many of us will have spent the extended weekend basking unashamedly in the little extra time away from the workplace, some will have undoubtedly been fretting over the amount of lost productivity that’ll be hard to gain back.

So we can’t think of a better reason to indulge in a bit of the good chocolatey stuff, to get back into working gear!

In 1876, we got the telephone. In 1971, the first PC was born. In 2007, the IPhone began its world domination. And now, it seems the next phase of digital evolution is upon us – and it’s gone one step further. No, we’re not talking about virtual or augmented reality (hasn’t that topic been exhausted already?) – we’re referring to the new ‘wearable tech’ obsession which has swept gyms everywhere. Of course, FitBits and the like aren’t new or surprising anymore, but what might be more remarkable is that this year, Google and Levi’s are releasing the first clothing item with a digital interface literally woven into its fabric – a ‘smart jacket’ if you will. But this latest development is being hailed merely as the technology next in line to making our day-to-day lives that extra bit hassle-free. For instance, the wearer need only tap the jacket’s cuff to start music playing, or swipe to hear the day’s weather forecast. No need to fish around for that clunky smartphone – if you’ll need an umbrella, the jacket will know. However, as astounding as the digital jacket might sound, it can only perform basic, smart-phone-esque operations. Where technological boats are really being pushed out is in a clothing accessory much less robust – the humble wristband. Venturing beyond the well-trodden realm of smart-phone functionality, the new Doppel wristband can purportedly go so far as actually altering its wearer’s mood – making them, at their will, more energetic and animated, or more relaxed and lethargic. The wristband works by giving off vibrations which connect to the wearer’s pulse in their wrist. Regular, frantic vibrations spark the user into a more alert state, whereas slower, measured vibrations relax them. Ever felt a bit sluggish, stuck on an upbeat musical track, and had your energy lifted? It’s the same principle. As far as the Doppel’s uses go in the workplace, it’s essentially the digital ‘doppel-ganger’ of a morning cup of coffee. It could help employees keep on top of heavy to-do lists, concentrate during particularly dull meetings, or remain calm during times of stress. And research has also shown that people using its ‘alert’ setting actually make fewer mistakes. Rather than being a regurgitation of the same-old FitBit-style tech which doesn’t function beyond the collation and analysis of data, the Doppel is an example of technology becoming less reactive and more proactive – with the power to directly influence our actions and behaviour. Science Fiction is becoming Science Fact. While we’re yet to see it permeate in the workplace, our organisations are becoming more technological by the day – so perhaps it’s time we ourselves followed suit, embracing unusual tech and the productivity push it promises?

This week, we discovered the intriguing news that craft brewing company BrewDog is implementing a ‘paw-rental leave’ policy – whereby employees welcoming new four-legged companions into their homes get a week’s full-paid leave, to help their new furry friends settle in stress-free. Parental leave for pets – it’s a novel idea, but might not actually be so surprising. BrewDog opens its doors to around 50 office canines every day. At Nestlé, some 56 employees have undergone the company’s ‘pawthorisation’ process to bring their dogs to work. Across the UK, just short of 10% of employees can freely have their pets accompany them to the office. The workplace is ever-changing, and it’s becoming a lot more pet-friendly. The idea of having pets in the workplace isn’t a new one – pet charity Blue Cross has been championing it since all the way back in 1897. And with policies like flexiworking transforming how we work, we’ll likely start seeing more little tails wagging alongside us in the office too. The good news for pet-lovers is that this might actually prove very advantageous. Research has shown that those of us who interact with dogs at work experience significantly less stress than those who don’t. After all, what better way to take a mental breather than by giving a friendly pup a stroke and a ruffle? Moreover, it turns out that dogs can enhance camaraderie amongst employees too. One study found that teams who work with dogs present are more likely to be cohesive, trusting and positive. Being around dogs encourages comfort and interaction – meaning people can more easily break the ice and get down to business. And bringing dogs to work also gives us reason to exercise during the day. Our sedentary working styles and extensive workloads mean we don’t spend much time on our feet. But dogs naturally need regular walks – and since workplace wellbeing is drawing the spotlight, they might be the answer employers are looking for. This is all well and good, but what about the downsides? Dogs aren’t for everyone – and for some people, exposure can spark serious allergic reactions. Plus, others are simply afraid of them – and rather than decreasing stress, being around dogs can be much less calming. In this light, perhaps a pet parental leave policy or encouraging flexiworking is the best way forward, so people can spend more time with their furry friends or visit them during the day. Either way, it’d be barking mad to ignore the productivity, efficiency, and wellbeing boosts that working alongside pets can bring. 40% of households in the UK contain a pet – so perhaps it’s time to start considering how best to benefit pet-loving employees in their working lives?

It seems congratulations are in order for our Scandinavian friends in Norway – which has been named the World’s Happiest Country in this year’s World Happiness Report! Gratulerer, Norway! (in case you’re wondering, us Brits are trailing a bit behind at 19th). Norway may have seized the coveted ‘happiest place’ trophy from their Danish neighbours, but that doesn’t change the fact that the Scandinavian countries consistently take the top five spots, where they remain this year. So why are these countries apparently so happy all the time? Perhaps it’s their heavy emphasis on work-life balance. Maybe it’s their societies’ prosocial makeup, where high tax is reinvested into beneficial social projects. Or perhaps it’s their popular concept of hygge, which promotes homely comfort and is gaining ground in Britain too in what Meik Wiking (CEO of the Happiness Research Institute) is calling the ‘second Viking invasion’. One thing’s clear – some of us are keen to emulate what is supposedly making our Scandinavian cousins so enviously jovial. But what if we’re approaching it in the wrong way? Quite apart from any notion of prosocial society and hygge lies the belief that Scandinavian countries are the happiest simply because their citizens have lower expectations than everyone else. On the face of it, it may make sense – after all, a pessimist is never disappointed, as they say. And deeply rooted in Scandinavian society is the concept of Jante Law, which has at its heart the fundamental idea that ‘You are not to think you're anyone special or that you're better than us’ – decrying the high expectations of personal ambition and achievement in favour of a more egalitarian, prosocial existence. So is the answer to our happiness problems simply to lower our expectations, and all become positive pessimists? It might seem that way. Research has evidenced an increasing ‘expectation gap’, whereby our expectations of what our own happiness should be – provoked by our exposure to others’ happiness on social media and through body-shaming advertising, for instance – are increasingly outweighing what it can be, leading to greater dissatisfaction when reality often falls short. But what about when optimism is a good thing? Could it not be argued that without optimism, there can be no innovation? Innovation fundamentally requires high expectations because, at its core, it challenges the status quo. If people didn’t believe their ideas could change the world, the likelihood is that they wouldn’t – and for the innovation economy we now operate in, personal passion and ambition are essential. There’s an interesting paradox evidently at play here. Perhaps to unravel it, we need to find a middle ground, balancing realistic expectations and goals with a crucial drive to improve and succeed – for everyone’s benefit.

Last week, the media world was graced with another adorably wonderful ‘live TV gone-wrong’ moment to add to the history books. We’re certainly not short of them – from the recent Oscars embarrassment when the wrong film was mistakenly named ‘Best Picture’, to that time when unsuspecting BBC job interviewee Guy Noma was erroneously dragged into the wrong interview to talk about an issue he knew nothing about all the way back in 2006. But the latest live faux-pas didn’t take place on the stage of a prestigious annual event, or in the studio of a world-renowned media giant. It occurred in the most unassuming and inconspicuous of places: a back-room home office. Much like the Guy Noma gaffe, this gem transpired during a live interview with the BBC. Professor Robert Kelly was busy discussing the current political crisis in South Korea via webcam from his home there. Initially, everything was ordinary – the interview was going swimmingly, and Kelly was clearly keen to ensure that it was conducted as professionally as possible despite the great geographical gulf of over 5000 miles. But this could not prevent the hilariously heart-warming mishap that followed. Part-way through the interview, Kelly had to contend with every homeworking parent’s worst nightmare – as his broadcast was interrupted by his two young children, innocently and unashamedly ambling into the room. Cue Kelly gallantly struggling to press on whilst simultaneously attempting to keep his young daughter under control; cue his baby son making a comically grand entrance rolling in on a baby walker; and cue his wife hurriedly dashing in and unceremoniously removing them from the room. Are you cringing yet? What might make this ‘aww’-inducing incident so terrifying for many of us is that it poses a real genuine possibility. While we’re probably not going to end up announcing the Oscar winners or turning up for the wrong interview at the BBC, having something go unexpectedly wrong in the workplace or while working from home is something that we can likely all connect with. How frequently technology has decided to not play along for that important video conference; those heart-stopping moments when an obtrusive, blaring noise refuses to subside during a crucial phone call; the infuriating times when a seemingly insurmountable obstacle rears its head hours before a project deadline. We all face frequent ‘live’ moments during our careers, and as the business world gets ever more bustling and remote working becomes increasingly popular, we’ll likely encounter more and more of them in the future. So perhaps Professor Kelly’s mortifying mishap serves as a pertinent reminder of the importance of planning ahead for any potential problems we may face – and always expecting the unexpected.

H&H is a fast-growing and vibrant IC agency with offices in Hull and London. We’re recognised and chosen because of our high-level, strategic thinking, as well as our exceptionally creative approach to IC programmes. We work we with an incredible variety of clients and have won masses of industry awards for our approach and results. We’re looking for a talented IC Consultant to join our team and work somewhere where they can thrive, grow and achieve.

The role:

We’re not too hung up on titles at H&H – as long as you’re delivering at the highest quality in your area of expertise we’ll get along just fine. This role is all about the intelligent thinking behind our programmes and campaigns. So, you’ll certainly be expected to demonstrate that you can properly think things through, and come up with approaches which are both creative yet realistic and practical enough to meet clients’ needs.

It’s likely that you’ve had a successful and solid grounding working in the field of IC – and, in particular, strategic change communications. We’ll expect you to be as comfortable with developing strategies for hard-to-reach front line employees as you are with executive and leadership comms. And the work we do is rarely ‘broadcast’. You’ll therefore need a good understanding of collaborative communication techniques and approaches.

Does the following description sound like you?

I’m passionate about internal comms and the difference it makes

I’ve got extensive experience of developing internal communication and engagement strategies and plans

I can flex easily from big picture strategy to tactical detail and planning

I’m accomplished and skilled with words – I can shift through detail and present information in a simple yet powerful way

I’m skilled and practiced at making the best use of comms channels (including social media and other digital platforms)

I have the confidence to work effectively across all levels of the organisation, including the tact and credibility to work with senior leadership teams

I have the ability to adopt a range of styles, tools and techniques appropriate to the audience and programme objectives

I thrive when the heat is on and can effectively manage many projects at once

I’m energetic and collaborative and constantly strive for the highest standards

If this is you – we’d love to talk. The package is negotiable – and will include benefits such as healthcare, flexible working and profit share.

 What to do now?

Have you been sitting down for a while? The chances are that like many of us in today’s working environment you have. And perhaps now you’ve thought about it, maybe you’ll notice that you have some stiffness or ache somewhere in your body. If so, don’t bother adjusting your posture or chair, or getting up to walk around for a little while. Instead, try wrapping yourself up tightly in cloth, with your knees up to your chin, and rolling around for a bit. And no, that’s not an offhand suggestion. We’re referring to the Japanese practice of Otonamaki – which literally translates as ‘adult wrapping’. And it’s exactly what it says on the tin: it involves people being very snugly tied up, like an Egyptian Mummy, inside a restrictive ream of cloth in the foetal position, and being gently rolled around.   Some of us might think of it as a claustrophobic nightmare. But to its supporters, it’s a great new way to relax – and relieve muscle stiffness, reduce stress, and alleviate problems with posture in the process. However, its naysayers are quick to point out that there’s actually no proof that it has any effect on physical wellbeing – and so practitioners could well be voluntarily constricting themselves inside cloth for absolutely no benefit whatsoever. But if it’s not yet a mainstream physiotherapy practice, why is Otonamaki becoming increasingly noticed and popular? And should we be worrying about our posture at all? It turns out the answer is yes, we most definitely should. We spend the majority of our hours in sedentary positions; sitting at our work desks, sitting in our cars, sitting in front of the TV, just generally doing a lot of sitting – and it’s having an invisible, but profound, adverse effect on our physical health. In the words of Dr. James Levine: ‘we are sitting ourselves to death’. Very reassuring. Not only does sitting disrupt the body’s metabolic system, it’s also not great for our posture or muscle health. Ever caught yourself nonchalantly jiggling your leg at your work desk? It’s probably your body telling you that you should be moving. With the growing emphasis on employee wellbeing, and many employers now encouraging regular breaks and in-work exercise, sitting too much is something which is coming under increasing scrutiny. And while we’re not recommending that you start practising Otonamaki every day – whether you wrap yourself up in a sheet of cloth for therapy is really very much your own decision – perhaps it’s time we all took note of the benefits that could come from consciously spending more of our time moving around. And building in ways throughout our workdays to ensure this happens more?

Earlier this week, many of us took out our frying pans, lemons and sugar to celebrate Pancake Day and practice our pancake-tossing skills (and hopefully not drop any on the floor, or worse, get them stuck to the ceiling). This annual ritual sees us collectively consuming 55 million eggs (that’s 22 million more than on any other day), almost 13 million kilos of flour, and enough milk to fill over 93 Olympic pools! One thing’s for sure – we’re flippin’-crazy about pancakes, and cakes in general for that matter. We eat cake on birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, and pretty much any special occasion you can think of. But in recent years, our craving for cake and other heavily sugar-based foodstuffs has been repeatedly called out by scientists as posing a significant risk to our health. Today’s news is drowning in details of weight-related epidemics, and next year the Government is introducing a sugar tax on fizzy drinks in an attempt to tackle child obesity. Evidence certainly suggests we may have made a habit of being a bit too liberal with our fondness for sugar. But there are now calls for us to combat workplace ‘cake culture’ too, and reduce the amount of cake we eat in the office. Abstaining from cake at work? Is this health and safety gone mad, or should we take note?

Here at H&H, we’re all sticklers for a good freshly baked cake, but the growing emphasis on the importance of workplace wellbeing – particularly its impact on employee happiness and productivity – can’t be ignored. Some organisations have already made big strides to encourage healthier eating in the workplace. Google has employed ‘nudge theory’ tactics – keeping confectionery in opaque containers, using smaller plates, and making healthy foods more visible to encourage its employees to make better snacking decisions. And the result? Over a 7-week period, their New York employees ate 3.1m fewer calories. This isn’t to say that eating cake at work is fundamentally bad, because it can do wonders for fostering positivity and camaraderie. Maybe we just need to be a little more conscious about how often we tuck into it – and consider the wellbeing and productivity benefits that could come from swapping the carrot cake for healthier carrot sticks every now and then.

To many of us, the idea of medieval knights of old conjures up images of a far-gone Golden Age where gracious courtly romance, sacred spiritual morality and gallant adventure ruled the day, and ancient wizards with long white beards dwelled beside bejewelled warrior kings. What it probably doesn’t conjure up is an image of… banking. But those of us who regularly stop by ATMs, make monetary transfers, or simply seek a safer place to store our dough than down the back of the sofa have to extend our gratitude all the way back to the 12th Century – where an idea was sparked that would change economic history forever. Following the First Crusade, Jerusalem became a hotspot for travelling pilgrims. But unfortunately, the long path they traversed made them easy pickings for robbers looking to haul some quick riches. So to ensure they made their journey unscathed, a new military order – the Knights Templar – was established. These knights devoted themselves solely to the defence of the thousands of pilgrims streaming into Jerusalem – and also happened to develop one of the earliest forms of banking in the process. As well as providing military protection, the knights devised a way to keep the pilgrims’ finances safe too. Rather than having to transport all their funds with them on their journey, the pilgrims could leave their money with the Knights Templar in London in exchange for a ‘letter of credit’, which they could then use to withdraw that money upon their arrival in Jerusalem. But although this simple idea formed the foundations for the extensive economic systems we all know and utilise today, that wasn’t the Knights Templars’ initial aim. They just wanted to find ways of fulfilling their purpose – to help the pilgrims they served. And that’s what we all do in our organisations every day. We’re on a mission to enrich the world with our imaginative, creative ideas. And just like the Knights Templar, we have no way of knowing if our idea will go on to change the world. So we should never give up on a brilliant idea, just because it’s ‘too hard’ or because someone else can’t immediately see it’s brilliance. After all, there’s no way of knowing just what that idea might one day become.

H&H is a multi-award winning Internal Communications agency with offices in Hull and London. We’re recognised and chosen because of our high level of strategic thinking, as well as our exceptionally creative approach.  We excel in developing innovative and creative ways to inform, connect and engage employees with organisational culture, strategies and programmes of change.

We work with amazing clients and have an impressive collection of industry awards for our approach and results. As you might expect – the pace is fast, the projects diverse and the challenges, challenging!

Our client list is growing fast and we’re looking to expand our network of outstanding associates.  If you’re an independent IC professional with substantial experience in employee engagement and change communications, we’d love to hear from you.  We’re after exceptional strategic thinkers with the ability to translate that thinking into compelling solutions.  You’ll also need to be versatile and agile, comfortable working independently on a project or as part of team, and enjoy working at a fast pace.    

What to do now?

We’re sure you’ve heard of Siri. Familiar with Sat-Nav. You’ve probably even heard mention of Pokémon Go. But what you probably haven’t heard much about is the ability to transplant your head onto the body of a robot, so that you can literally roll around on wheels. Okay we’ll admit, we’re exaggerating a bit there. While science hasn’t yet thrust us into the era of Doctor Who-esque Cyberman technology, the latest fusion of robotics and augmented reality has given rise to a new development in the world of work, which allows us to literally ‘become’ robots. The new telepresence Beam machines – developed by technology firm Suitable Technologies – have given a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘remote working’. The company recruits employees from all across the world, yet none of them actually step foot inside an office. That’s because the new technology allows them to digitally ‘beam’ a live visual feed of themselves onto the ‘head’ of a Beam robot - essentially a TV mounted on stilts and trundling around on wheels! From the comfort of their own homes, these employees can do all the things regular employees do without actually being there physically. Here’s a solution which brings remote working to the office, reducing employee isolation without encroaching upon the personal freedom it serves to support. For some people, the thought of interacting with a bunch of pixels on a TV screen on stilts might seem rather strange. But even though it sounds like something from the realms of science-fiction, it’s essentially just Skype on wheels. Many of us use apps like Skype and FaceTime on a regular basis in the workplace, and we’ve been using webcams to communicate since the ancient history of the digital age all the way back in 1994. Remote working is at its highest level ever, and technology has played a big part in that. Are we getting close to the stage where employees will start to expect remote working to be a standard employment option? Perhaps. And while we may not all be ready to roll out Beam robots into our workplaces, it’s worth remembering that there is lots of research demonstrating that remote/home working is actually more productive. One thing’s for sure: the trend towards remote working is likely to maintain its momentum. Giving us lots to think about in terms of how we’ll continue to keep these groups of employees engaged and connected in the future!

In case you hadn’t heard, last week it was announced that Britain’s most famous police box will be seeing a change of owner at the end of the year. That’s right, Peter Capaldi is stepping down as Doctor Who – and the quest is on to find a new face for our long-beloved Time Lord. The hunt for a new Doctor Who never fails to whip the country into a frenzy. After 53 years, 827 episodes and 13 Doctors, the debate on who will play Who still enraptures fans. But as exciting as the build-up is, the new Doctor isn’t always welcomed with open arms. Many people shrugged their shoulders at Capaldi, controversially focusing on his ‘older’ age, while his predecessor Matt Smith also prematurely lost viewers due to his ‘younger’ demeanour (talk about choosy!). But whoever he is, the Doctor always leaves behind some fairly ginormous shoes to fill, and stepping into them is undoubtedly fairly daunting. So why are some fans so often initially unforgiving to the new incarnation? As tempting as it might be to dismiss naysayers as being simply ‘closed-minded’, it’s also worth remembering that, naturally, we all prefer things we’ve come to be familiar with, and tend to regard the ‘new’ with suspicion and hesitation. If we’re familiar with something, we know it’s safe. We know where we’re at. Being sceptical of change was a handy survival mechanism for our earliest ancestors, for whom threat and danger lurked around every corner. So it’s something that’s built-in to our DNA. That’s why we’re often tempted to just stick with what we know. But that’s not realistic. The world is constantly changing, and we’re discovering new ways of working and living faster than you can say, ‘is it really February already?!’. And just as we have no say in who the new Doctor will be, we can’t foresee all the changes that we’ll be adapting to throughout this year. The Doctor has an extra heart to make him more fair and open to the situations and people around him. So perhaps we should remember to keep ours open, whenever we encounter the new. You never know, you may end up loving the ‘new’ even more than the ‘old’! But you need to try it on for size first…

This is the third article in a nine-part series exploring all aspects of organisational change. We explore change fatigue, why it’s so common, and how you can prevent it from confining change processes to the scrapheap. 

Did you have a cup of coffee when you arrived at work this morning? Hands up if you did. On second thoughts, don’t actually put your hands up – you might attract some funny looks – but we can give a pretty good guess. For most of us, morning coffee consumption is a workday ritual. We sometimes can’t function without it. It prepares us for the hectic day ahead, and we’re now so dependent on it that we’re drinking much more of it than ever before – 55 million cups a day to be precise. That's a 'latte' coffee (get the pun?), and in fact, our very Britishness is under threat – since we now drink more coffee than we do tea! Who even are we anymore? Okay, so that doesn’t exactly spell doom and despair, but it’s still a decent indicator of how quickly we’ve taken to the new ‘coffee culture’ which has seeped into society. Nowadays you’d probably struggle to find an office in the country that didn’t have at least one coffee machine. And the hiss of brewing coffee has practically become a daily workplace symphony. If you’re still not convinced, find your nearest high street and count the number of coffee shops you see. We can guarantee that the answer won’t be zero. The fact is, the rise of coffee culture is directly attributable to the increasing number of coffee shops storming our streets. They’re everywhere! You can’t go anywhere without seeing at least one Starbucks or Costa. But the startling surge in coffee shops brings with it more than just endless caramel macchiatos. Studies have shown that their environments – relaxed, but buzzing with ambient chatter – help to stimulate creative thinking. Why else would they be the preferred place of the writer to put pen to paper? Some organisations are already taking advantage of the newfound coffee culture’s influence on creative thinking, encouraging coffee consumption and colloquial office chit-chat to kick-start the flow of their employees’ creative ideas. And with the myriad of fresh challenges facing our organisations every day, surely there’s no better excuse to put the kettle on?