My Monday to Friday is always the same. There’s the mad rush in the mornings, making sure that everyone has what they want/need for the day, the kids to be dressed, fed and teeth cleaned, then dog needs to be fed, watered and walked. My husband usually has left the building long before the morning rush even begins.
In between stepping over the dog, buttering the toast and wiping the toothpaste off at least one child’s clean school jumper I can sometimes manage to slurp some of the lukewarm tea that was made (what feels like) hours ago.
A nice hot cup of tea
It’s no surprise that I live for the moment I get to the office, switching on my computer and eagerly awaiting those first sips of a hot, fresh cup of tea. If I am really lucky someone might have been kind enough to make one and it will be on the desk waiting for my arrival.
This signals the start of 5 whole hours of hot tea, adult conversation and time to eat my lunch with out anyone sticking their fingers in it because they want some! (I wouldn’t be happy if one of my colleagues did that).
A staple part of British office life, the kettle is on regularly. But what are the unspoken rules of who makes the tea?
So many options
There are several things to consider when thinking of the tea making politics in the office. It is not as straight forward as you might think…..
The people: There’s the ones that put the milk in first. The ones that don’t wash the cups properly, the ones that don’t empty and refill the kettle each time, the person that dumps the tea bags in the sink (or even worse on the side). There’s also the person who couldn’t make a cup of tea if their life depended on it. Then there’s the reluctant one, the one who doesn’t drink it themselves so doesn’t make it for anyone else (even worse is the one who will drink a cup if it’s made for them but wouldn’t choose to make it – so they don’t!)
‘How do you like your tea in the morning?’ There are so many types of tea, so many ways of having it, who likes what cup, how many sugars and the all-important question of how do you like your tea – milky or strong?
The benefits outweigh the politics…
Drinking a cup of tea is a very British tradition. Whenever there is a crisis or bad news, someone comes into your home or office, you can guarantee that someone will rush to put the kettle on.
Tea relaxes, soothes and uplifts our mood it also heightens alertness, banishes lethargy and beats away fatigue; the perfect antidote for a morning of madness and the lukewarm brew at home.
If your business could do with some uplifting, lethargy banishing, mood boosting marketing support get in touch with the team at The Bridge and let’s discuss how we can help you …. over a nice hot cuppa of course!