by Diana L. Martin

A lot has happened in the past couple days in regard to the Coronavirus outbreak. With President Trump’s latest actions, many workers are now working remotely from home and it could be an extended situation. If that’s you, there are several things you need:

• A quiet workspace - a location in the house (spare bedroom, den, basement) where you can set up a dedicated space that will be quiet, minimize distractions and allow you to concentrate.

by Diana L. Martin

It’s the most wonderful time of the year and the holidays will be here before you know it. I’m willing to bet that someone in your office has already been tasked with organizing your company party. There are lots of decisions to be made: where, when, what kind of food, games, etc.

If your company is like a lot of others, you save money by having the party onsite at the end of the workday (and into the evening). Office Express can help you with the supplies you need to make the evening a success.

by Diana L. Martin

We recently added a new function to our site that I think you’re going to love. It’s called Shared Cart and it lets other people add items to a shopping cart that you created. This can be a great time saver - for one thing it eliminates the need for requisition forms. Just think - no more collecting requests from employees and no more stacks of requests on your desk to be reviewed. (Or does your computer look like this after everyone leaves you notes with their needs?)

by Diana L. Martin

As I’m sure you all know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  This is a topic that has a significant personal connection to me and I urge all of you to support as many of the fundraisers as you are able.  Breast cancer has such a huge presence in our lives that I’m sure most all of you know someone who has been affected by this horrible disease.  According to the American Cancer Society, a woman living in the U.S. has a 1 in 8 lifetime risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer.

 1 in 8.   

At OEX, we believe in promoting best practice to make your workplace as healthy as it can be.  One of the best ways to support employee health is by understanding ergonomics and providing the right tools to minimize avoidable health issues.  

What is Ergonomics?  Ergonomics can be defined as the “science of fitting the task to the worker…”  The average office worker sits approximately 10 hours per day.  Sitting for a prolonged period of time, generally more than 2 hours at a time, can cause a myriad of issues in our bodies.

I can’t believe I’ve been writing the OEX blog for five years! Five! We started in September 2014 with the hope that the articles would be informative, helpful, interesting and fun for our readers. The Wizard of OEX was created as our online persona and I’ve had a blast writing from “behind the curtain.” I’ve shared my thoughts on a variety of topics and have given you product reviews, how-to-guides and some just plain goofy stuff.

I’ll bet right now after reading that first paragraph, you think this is my farewell post ,

Do you have a company business card? How about stationery, forms, labels or printed marketing? Do you use promotional materials like mugs, exhibitor displays or branded apparel? OEX has launched a new print system to make ordering easier.

Paper and folders and Sharpies - oh my! Velcro and Scotch Tape and clocks - oh my! <musical accompaniment> These are a few of my favorite things!

Oh, wait. No. I’m getting my movies mixed up. <blushing> Sorry about that. Well anyway……

Did you know that we have over 8100 Made in America products in the office supplies section of our catalog alone?

I have a secret to tell you today. But it’s not an average secret - and you don’t have to keep it a secret either!

Ready for it?

Here it is……

It’s been almost two years since we introduced our new online custom stamp ordering site and we’ve received a lot of great compliments on the site from those of you who are using it. We love hearing your feedback - thank you for sending it to us!

Two common questions we get are: 1) How do I get to the site? and 2) Why doesn’t it recognize me when I try to login on the checkout page? Give me just a few minutes of your time and I’ll answer those for you - it’s super easy.

No, that’s not what I meant. (Shame on you!)

If your business handles cash, you are constantly on guard for counterfeit bills. Forgers are coming up with new methods all the time and you need to be diligent in your efforts to protect your business. We’re all familiar with the counterfeit detector pens, but those only tell you whether the bill is on genuine U.S. currency paper. UV lights will show you other features of genuine bills, giving you added protection. There are several counterfeit detector products available that offer UV light and I’d like to showcase two of those products today.

Have you seen it? It’s AWESOME!

We’re pleased to announce another enhancement to our website - online returns! You asked if there was a way to submit a return request online and we heard you! It’s quick and easy - and it’s live now!

There are several ways to get to the return screen - I’ll show you two of them.

My dad struggles every fall and winter when the days start getting shorter. He’s seriously influenced by the lack of sunlight and it takes a heavy toll on him. This condition is called Seasonal Affective Disorder. People who have it may feel unusually tired or sad and have a lack of drive or energy during the short winter days. Extreme cases can result in depression.3

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can occur in your office as well. Employees may lack energy and lose focus, even fall asleep at their desks. You may be wondering what can be done to offset this or prevent it altogether. I’m glad you asked because there are some relatively simple changes that can be made to help keep your employees cheery and productive.

AARRGHHHH!!!!!!!

The paper is curling in my printer AGAIN!! WHY DOES IT DO THAT?????

If you saw yourself in those first sentences, take a deep breath and read on. I can help you. Paper curling is a fairly common problem and can usually be solved with a few simple steps.

Ergonomics are frequently discussed in relation to workplace environments, as is productivity. Employers spend a significant amount of time and resources trying to revamp processes to make their employees more productive. For workers who spend a majority of their day on phone calls, a headset will address both issues. Working with your neck constantly tilted to the side, either on a shoulder rest or just cradling the phone between your neck and shoulder, is not good for you. And trying to take an order or type a message while on the phone without a headset results in a definite loss of speed and productivity.

Is your office space configured for maximum productivity? Do your employees have both the spaces and the tools necessary for creative collaboration? Is the space comfortable? Is it flexible? These are all questions to consider when evaluating your current work space. Companies spend time and money evaluating processes and procedures and trying to find best practices to move the company forward and make it the best it can be; the work environment also needs to be considered in those evaluations.

Ordering supplies for your office - whether it be pens, paper, janitorial, breakroom or some other category - can be time consuming.  Especially if your company has a formal purchasing department and there are requisitions and purchase orders involved.

We are excited to announce a new function on our website that will save you time if you find yourself ordering the same items over and over again - Recurring Orders.  Recurring Orders allow you to create an order and schedule the frequency of the delivery - the order will be automatically sent to you on your schedule.  You can edit items and quantities or reschedule the delivery date as needed.  

Best of all, it's SIMPLE! 

Every so often, I like to highlight an unusual item.  By that I mean an item that you normally wouldn't think to call your office supply dealer for when you need it.  I think a lot of companies still don't know that the office products industry supplies more than just paper, binder clips, ring binders and the like.  Another category that we can help you with is your janitorial and facility maintenance supplies. 

Keeping the air clean in the office is vital to the health of everyone in the office.  Mold, mildew, bacteria or other microorganisms can flourish without proper prevention and treatment.  Having quality air filters in place is essential.  Did you know that you can purchase air filters from us?

There are a lot of moving pieces in an office remodel.  The overall style is probably the first thing on the docket - do we want contemporary or traditional? Something else?  Once that's decided, the furniture can be chosen, then the flooring, the lighting..........the list goes on and on.  

Take time to consider the color of the rooms.  If you've ever redecorated your house, you probably spent a bit of time trying to decide on the paint colors. Perhaps you bought some sample-size cans and painted patches on your wall to see how it would look before you jumped in with both feet.  The same concept applies to the office environment.  Different colors have different effects on employee moods, feelings and thoughts and great care should be given to the new design.  

Today we're continuing our discussion on filing as a way to keep you organized and on task at work (or at home, for that matter).  What kind of file folders do you need?  Why do you choose the ones you use now?  Is there a better solution for your needs?

Let's talk some file folder basics.  There are 3 things to consider when choosing your file folders - style, size and tabs.  We'll begin with style.