Keeping the troops happy

I found myself sharing a light ale in the Dog and Duck with a fellow small business owner last week.

Before long the two of us were nattering away about the pitfalls and pleasures of being your own boss. And the boss of a whole company full of people, obviously.

I confessed to him that I often worry about striking the balance between the carrot and the stick and accepted long ago that it's hard to be the boss and be popular to boot.

I asked my new buddy if he'd ever encountered the same problems. "Not really," came the reply. "It's pretty easy, actually. I just keep two fridges full of beer in the office and tell 'em it's all free, whenever they fancy one."

My pal assured me his staff generally didn't scratch the booze itch until a fairly socially acceptable 4.30pm. He must have hired more responsible types than I ever have; I reckon if I gave our Gordon free rein like that he'd sink four pints of Uri and a whisky chaser before 11am.