Identity Crisis

I was musing recently on why some civil service departments (including mine) issue staff with ID badges. For many employers this is part of their security and HR policies, enabling staff to open doors, clock in and out etc. I can understand the doors and the clock bit. I don't understand the security bit though. For one, some people have 10 year old pictures on theirs, and a quick glance reveals how haggard they have become, and how little they now resemble their picture.

But I think I have discovered the REAL reason. Recently I was in a retail park after work and saw a colleague (not from my section but recognisable by the Department ID dangling from a lanyard around his neck) staring blankly at an Argos catalogue while picking their nose. Shortly afterwards, I visited a Lidl store and saw a similar sight in the cheap booze section. Even at the staff Christmas do, a colleague wore theirs throughout the meal and the multitudinous drinks that followed.

Yes, I know why. If you find a civil servant wandering aimlessly in public or passed out in a pool of their own sick outside a pub, it serves as a "If found, please return to ... " label. See, our employers do care about us!