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While this isn’t strictly speaking a ‘Gadget’ in the traditional sense, I still think the item I received an Email about this morning is an invaluable tool to getting the spare time away from work that you deserve even when you lack an excuse to obtain this free time such as, in this instance, a child. As the creators state on their site, in America “Businesses lose up to $4 Billion each year due to employee absenteeism caused by child care problems”

That’s a rather large number and a lot of money lost, but who picks up the slack for all those lost man hours, all those days colleagues are away because Junior has a tummy ache? That’s right, those of us without children to use as an excuse to skive off work! Now there is the argument that children cost so much, that a few days off work citing them as the reason is just a little compensation for the MASSIVE financial outlay until they are eighteen, and usually beyond too if we aren’t kidding ourselves here. Personally I don’t buy that reasoning, these parents knew what they were getting into when they made their decision, they should live with the consequences.

So, going back to my original point, the Email I was sent directed me to ‘The Office Kid‘ website. The idea behind the kit is that you will likely never meet your colleagues children, and likewise, if you had any, they would never meet yours. The only indicators are usually a photo on your desk or in your wallet, and the odd artistic ‘masterpiece’.

The Office Kid kit comes with:

• Welcome letter and starter excuses
• Framed picture of ‘your’ kid
• ‘Original’ artwork by ‘your’ kid for display
• Additional materials available such as: your kid photo-shopped into a sports team picture, doctors notes on ‘official’ stationary, additional pieces of artwork.

With the ingenious Office Kid you can have your own seemingly tangible excuse to leave work early for a game of golf, sporting events, make happy hour, or just do absolutely nothing! Of course this sort of ongoing deception of your colleagues and superiors is not actually recommended, and the Office Kid is meant entirely as a novelty item.

Probably….