Workplace swearing gets OK… Kids cost more… Facebook catching up… Politicians not required to tell the truth

• Workplace swearing gets OK
• Kids cost more
• Facebook catching up
• Politicians not required to tell the truth

Goodness gracious: it’s OK to swear at work

Do you tolerate swearing in the office? A new study reported in Inc.com finds that profanity in the workplace can actually help boost office morale.

Swearing can help develop and maintain solidarity among workers, as well as relieve stress, according to the study conducted by researchers at the University of East Anglia, based in Norwich, England.

“Employees use swearing on a continuous basis, but not necessarily in a negative, abusive manner,” said Yehuda Baruch, a professor at the university’s Norwich Business School and one of the directors of the study.

Of course, watch out for offended customers. Swearing in front of customers and senior management is probably not a good idea. And there is a fine line between harmless swearing and using profanities in a way that could be perceived as unwanted sexual advances. Open swearing can be intimidating for some.

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How expensive are your children?

The estimated cost of raising a child from zero to 18 is $200,000, according to Katie May, co-founder of Kidspot.com.au, an online information business for parents of children under 14.

But if you choose to bundle the precious little ones off to private schools you can expect parenthood to cost a lot more. Parents are paying up to $100 a day to send their children to private schools and the cost is likely to rise next year.

Elite schools are expected to raise their fees by as much as 8.5%. Independent schools in Melbourne have increased their fees by up to $1300 for next year, and annual fees have passed $21,000. School camps, uniforms, computers and sporting costs are usually on top of this.

Meanwhile, the Government will spend $6.2 billion on private schools this year.

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MySpace slipping as Facebook gathers pace

Although still the market leader, social networking site MySpace has lost valuable market share to rival site Facebook. The number of Australian consumers visiting Facebook is three times higher than it was in mid-2007.

Many young consumers prefer Facebook, while MySpace is becoming popular with members of the older generation who are seeking an online presence.

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Pollies’ porkies

If you have noticed a few tall tales, exaggerations and wild generalisations in the political ads running over the past election campaign week, don’t worry. It’s not illegal. There was bipartisan action in Australia in 1984 to remove a legal requirement for truth in political advertising.

And they wonder why we don’t believe them?

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