Oops! Meetings Gone Into Top Gear?
When meetings get a bit heated we’ve found some totally insane ways to bring back some calm - and what’s maddest, these are all real!
FHUK solves your fracas...
By their nature business meetings can spark discussions, debates and different opinions - which could lead to a bit of a boisterous atmosphere! So, what can you do when this happens, count to ten, take a deep breath, sit in your office chair visualising that happy place on the beach? Perhaps, but what you may also need are some of these totally wacky ideas - many of which exist in offices across the world today…
1. Take it to the board
You don’t have to be outside to feel the calming effect of the wind in your hair, not when you work for Italian clothing company Comvert. Based in Milan, the business’ offices have a very unusual way for employees to unwind, an internal skateboard bowl that has a name too rude for us to publish! A fun and slightly scary way to relax if those meetings get a bit heated - you might end up with a few bruises though.
2. What’s your poison?
A public house isn’t an unusual place to meet with colleagues or have a few impromptu meetings - but it is quite unlikely to have a pub in your actual office. Not if you work for US-based Tenon Tours who run bespoke tours to Ireland and Scotland. They have installed Irish-themed streetlights and a pub in its offices. Just don’t spend too much time in any on-site pubs… your meeting might not even get off the ground!
3. Oo-argh
Remember those days when you wore an eye patch, brandished a plastic sword while you ran around pretending to be a pirate? Thanks to Inventionland you can do this during your working day as the US company has its own pirate ship. In fact, this isn’t the only weird installation on the site, it also features a racing track and a gingerbread house, handy if you forgot to bring something sweet to munch on at work.
4. Saddle-up
Exercise is a good way to relieve stress, which could crop up during meetings. We think we’ve found a great invention that would suit those offices looking for a rather different way to let off steam. At present the Daddy Saddle is only made to accommodate kids, and features a saddle much like you’d see on a camel. The parent can strap it around their midriff and carry children easily on their backs - we can’t wait for the adult version!
5. Have a hug
Cuddling isn’t really used to solve workplace squabbles in the UK, which makes this final invention possibly useful… Aptly called the Hugging Chair, this is not a rental seat we yet stock! It’s shaped like a traditional seat with the arms moulded to appear like outstretched hands - beckoning sitters in for a hug, this chair might be just what colleagues need during those raucous meetings that might end up in a fracas.