Office Manager With ID On New Official Lanyard Feeling Powerful Beyond Measure

ESSIE BURKE | Lifestyle & Work | CONTACT

Norris Walters spent decades feeling like a beta man but his fortunes changed when he landed a job with a swipe pass and a key to the stationery cupboard.

A former customer service officer at South Betoota’s motor registry, Mr Walters was promoted to regional manager last year when his predecessor died in a freak paper shredder incident.“The job has a few perks,” said Mr Norris, who has nursed an unrequited interest in a married coworker for five years.“I get my own ID security pass on a lanyard and Katie from IT showed me how to make my own email signature block.”Mr Norris, 47, said he also had access to an unlimited supply of tri-colour clicky pens, although he “didn’t really use green”.Jarryd Perkins from RMIT University said it was not uncommon for middle managers to feel “a surge of power” from donning a photo ID pass.“This is especially so when the pass is worn on a lanyard,” associate professor Perkins said.

But underlying feelings of ennui were likely to resurface when office managers realised their direct reports did not respect their authority, he said.