Tea and Coffee and newspaper articles

So another one of these articles, shock horror, some public body has spent thousands of pounds buying hot drinks for their staff .

Clearly, the whole lot of them should be hanged  …

except, if you look at the figures quoted, the outrage breaks down:

From the article,

440 staff and a total bill of 70,000 over 3 years.

Assuming a 48 week working year for everyone for 3 years, this means that the amount spent per week per person is

(70000/(48*3)) = 486 per week

486/440 = 1.11 per person.

Yes, just over 1 pound per person, per week!

Outrage, I say, outrage!

Ignoring for a moment, the fact that visitors apparently got hot drinks too for the money; given the large amounts of money and the vitally important decisions that a group like the GHA makes, making the right decisions is important. If spending a few pounds a week on hot drinks makes a key decision even slightly better, then it’s worth it.

The same is true of biscuits, snacks and even meals. Anything that improves the performance of the organisation at such a low cost is worth doing.

So as far as I’m concerned, this is money well spent.