As the year wraps up and we will all sigh with relief that we made it through another year, either stronger than ever, or with a few war wounds, the last items to look after is locking up the gulag /office, and not coming back to unpleasant surprises.

Here is a list of items that need to be delegated to someone else on Christmas Eve or put on the fridge for everyone:

1. Ensure any changes are sent back to us regarding the closure of your premises.
2. Will we perform the last service to empty the bins? If not, this has to be done. Coming back to maggots in January is not unheard of if someone leaves the bins full.
3. Inform security of your closure.
4. Consider turning off the tap to the dishwasher. (Pressure changes when people are on holidays can burst fittings)
5. Clean out the fridge and put a box of bi-carb soda inside to absorb any stale odours.
6. If odd staff use the office during this time, put a sign on the bin to put rubbish in the outside bin/skip.
7. And finally, take the last day as a leave day and leave this list on someone else’s’ desk, preferable the prime suspect using all the coffee/suger/butter!

This will all seem like just another lot of jobs to get done, but if the dishwasher floods the office, or maggots are wishing you a happy new year on the first day back, won’t you wish someone had done it?