A professional secretarial support organisation is celebrating its 40th year this month, and we at DeskDemon Express would like to add our congrats to the birthday messages. The Association of Medical Secretaries, Practice Managers, Administrators, and Receptionists (Amspar) was set up in 1964 to standardise the role of the medical secretaries working in hospitals and with GPs. "They just used to muddle along as best they could," explains Communications Manager Michael Fiennes. "Amspar set about working with ministers and colleges to develop a suite of professional qualifications which are now industry standard, and required by healthcare employers across the country."

Amspar also campaigns hard on behalf of its 4,500 members for pay and conditions. Most recently, Association staff were meeting a Liberal Democrat minister to discuss the serious skills shortages in the profession, which has led to medical transcription work being sent to India for typing by unqualified staff.

Secretaries and support staff traditionally have difficulty getting their voices heard, and the support of professional organisations is essential in raising awareness of the importance of their contribution. So happy birthday, and keep up the good work, Amspar!

What gets on your nerves about your job? Online jobsite monster.co.uk has asked its web visitors to tell them what's irritating about their work, and the results make rather worrying reading! One quarter said it was their colleagues who drive them crazy - not a great recipe for harmony in the workplace! Fortunately these workers were not the largest group, however. The number one Office Hate was taken by bureaucracy. Just under 40% of those responding cited the mountains of paperwork they deal with every day as being the most annoying aspect of their work. Others were concerned about the long hours culture that we enjoy so much in Britain (17%), while a smaller group found their offices a source of annoyance (8%). A small but chirpy section of those quizzed (9%) said that nothing really irritated them! Maybe they're new in the job, or hanging on for retirement - but whatever they're taking, I want some!

In the last issue of your favourite ezine we put some super prizes up for grabs, and hundreds of you emailed us for a chance to win. Five lucky DeskDemon Express readers have each won themselves a luxury, leather personal organiser, PLUS a super desk diary! Well done, chaps!

The prizes will be winging their way to the following subscribers:

Donna McComb, Senior Clerical Assistant with the Shetland Islands Council on Shetland; Catherine Briggs, HR Manager / PA to the Directors at Swann-Morton Limited in Sheffield; Sharon Gibbs, Postgraduate Medical Education Coordinator at the Postgraduate Centre at Manchester Royal Infirmary; Dinah Shortt, Management Secretary for Balcas Timber Limited in Enniskillen; and Mandy Black, PA to CEO for the Chrysalis Group in London.

And we have more top prizes in this issue's giveaway - take a look for yourself!

What do delegates want from a meeting or training room? What physical factors affect how successful that business meeting or training course will be? Instead of guessing, Etc Venues, the independent provider of conference, training and meeting space in London, decided to ask delegates, and enlisted the help of Warwick University to develop a research project on the subject.

Results of the report, called "The right space to be effective", were launched at the Meetings & Incentive Travel Show in London last week. A huge 84% of delegates felt the space they sat in directly impacted on their attitude towards having a successful training session or meeting, and 79% felt it affected their ability to concentrate. Delegates reported that natural daylight, air conditioning, unobstructed sight lines, a spacious area to work, and appropriate artificial light were key to getting the most from their work session. Over half of those polled agreed that it was important for the meeting or training session to be held off-site, to be isolated from the distractions of the office.

"Until now, research has always focused on the venues themselves or the meetings organisers," explains Mary Fowell, sales and marketing director for Etc Venues. "We felt it was time to find out what makes a difference to delegates, and the message has come back loud and clear. The training or meeting space can have a huge impact on people's ability to focus, engage and learn."

If you've always believed that office politics are damaging, time-consuming and destructive - think again! New research claims it may actually be a positive driving force within the workplace.

A survey of 856 HR professionals and business managers by the Roffey Park Management Institute reveals that 58% of businesses have experienced "constructive office politics". A further 61% of those polled say they have witnessed a positive outcome after personally engaging in "political behaviour".

Linda Holbeche, director of research and strategy at Roffey Park, said: "Whether or not politics is used constructively in an organisation is largely dependent on the example set by senior managers. They set the political tone since they have the ability to reward or sanction behaviour in others lower down the hierarchy. If they are to be effective role models, they must take this responsibility seriously."

The latest research appears to go against a similar report published by the Institute in 2002, which found that organisational productivity fell when colleagues engage in such behaviour, because it creates a lack of trust, internal conflict and causes a greater resistance to change.