MEN with a nice falsetto and ladies who can beef up their bass notes might want to consider careers in stock broking. Vocally gifted City types should have a look at Fast Company (March), which reports that people like to hear a woman’s voice when they’re listening to information about a big stock transaction, but a man’s when it comes to doing the deal. Companies with automated telephone systems can programme their machines to make this switch automatically, but if you’re doing this the old-fashioned, face-to-face way, some vocal dexterity is called for.

. . . BAD WEEK

STAFF safety is important, and no one with managerial responsibility should ever encourage their charges to play hide and seek in the lift shaft. For a start, if the police need to investigate the scene for any length of time you’ll have to use the stairs. However, people who don’t take health and safety seriously will soon face more than just the extra exercise. Personnel Today (March 1) reports that the Government will support a Private Member’s Bill that would make individual company directors liable (in a prison sense) for negligence or safety breaches that lead to deaths at work.

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