‘Working from home’ to blame for rise in post-it note and stapler poverty

The rise in a work from home culture is responsible for a sharp increase in post-it note and stapler poverty, according to an expert in stationery.

“We have seen a shocking rise in post-it note and stapler poverty in the last five years,” explained Dr Simon Williams, Professor of stationary at Oxford University.

“Many many families don’t possess a single stapler, and they’re often trying to eek out the last few post-it notes on a pad, rather than just throwing it away and starting on a new one. In the past, we would expect to find multiple biros throughout households, nowadays a whole family may be sharing one such pen and that may only be a green one.

“Only about one in five households has a pencil sharpener.

“I think it’s fair to say that stationery poverty is at its worst since the war.”

Dr Williams laid the blame for this firmly at the door of the new work from home culture.

“Well, look, there’s a cost-of-living crisis. That’s certainly a factor, but really, this is all on work from home. In the past, people in offices had ready access to the stationery cupboard. All they needed to do was wait for their manager to attend a meeting about a spreadsheet, and then they could fill up their handbag or backpack with as many staplers, post-it notes, and biros as would fit.

“They would then share everything with family and friends and it meant that everyone had a ready supply of quality stationery. Working from home means that people don’t have the same access to a stationery cupboard. Even if they go into the office once or twice a week, the stationery cupboard doesn’t exist anymore or, if it does, stock levels have been cut back so much that it has often been emptied just hours after a restock.

“Working from home may be a boon for people’s mental health, but for their stationery health? It’s been terrible.”

Dr Williams called on the Government to act urgently.

“Free stationery banks. A stationery allowance. Just something that could give people ready access to quality stationery again. We have to act quickly or it could become the norm that children growing up in this country won’t have even seen a paper clip or highlighter pen.”

Advertisement

NewsThumpNotebooks

Somewhere to write down everything that’s wrong with the world. You may need several.

See the full collection →