Battling for pole position at the fax

FEELING frazzled about photcopying? In a pique over printing? The Margin can report that a new survey by Gestetner shows that more than three quarters of business people lose their rag with colleagues who they believe are hogging office equipment.

Around 13 per cent of those surveyed said they lose their temper often because of this and 4 per cent fly off the handle every day.

A shameless 7 per cent of office rats admit to never re-filling the photocopier which they have used the last piece of paper, while nearly half admit that they would remove a colleague's fax before it was finished sending, in order to send one of their own.

Gestetner suggests that it all shows the need for a new code of office etiquette. But the Margin advises its readers to give as good as they get in this new office battleground.