How much would you spend on a work-related item...

[phaedrus]

I think that, as an academic, the division between "work" and "not work" is very fuzzy indeed. I spend a lot on books and other materials which can be used in connection with teaching and/or research, and I have a contract with no fixed working hours. I honestly don't know if the expenditure is work-related or not.

 

[MacB]

Let's not forget cars, I've spent most of my working life in out of town business parks poorly served by public transport. Prior to discovering cycling a car was an essential for work, I rarely used it apart fom that.

 

[jonny jeez]

If guaranteed to increase my earnings, then almost any amount...otherwise, £20

 

[Kirstie]

What jimscullion said. I buy a lot of research books out of my personal money even though they are some of the tools I use to do my job. But then I love having them, and often read them outside of work time, whenever that is. Academic employment contracts always say 'you'll work as long as it takes to get the job done', and as it's a job that is never finished, that means all of the time!

 

[marzjennings]

After the normal stuff car, petrol, clothes I buy my own pens, note pads and diaries because the ones in the stationary room suck. About 50 a year I'd guess.

 

[beanzontoast]

The textbooks thing is quite widespread I think throughout education and IT-related roles. Books and software in my case to a degree - there's a thin line between me personally / work benefitting from me increasing my expertise. It's knowing where to draw the line that I find hard.

 

[numbnuts]

I had to buy my own steel toe boots for work

 

[darkstar]

Once, when I was working for Tesco I was asked to drive to deliver a customers shopping, as it had been left behind by the delivery driver. I took the opportunity straight away as it meant getting away from the awful place and it's awful customers for an hour. I bargained and was given a create of beer, which is the closets i'd come to giving over expenses to such a company, think it was highly illegal though, considering I wasn't insured, having an accident would have been made it interesting.

If I work for a smaller company when i'm out of uni i'd be willing to but small items, depending on my salary.

 

[darkstar]

I had to buy my own steel toe boots for work

Where were you working numbnuts? When I was working in warehouses they provided them free of charge.

 

[Bigsharn]

Mobile phone contract, the main reason for having which is for work purposes

£25/mo

 

[vernon]

Where were you working numbnuts? When I was working in warehouses they provided them free of charge.

I had to buy my own protective footwear when I worked for MFI in the early eighties. I think that the company paid the first ten pounds.

 

[Bird Brain]

Probably about £20 quid.I have bought my own crayons in the past.

 

[yello]

I object to having to spend money on shoes and suits that i would never otherwise wear.

My sentiments exactly. In the past tense now in my case, fortunately. My old work togs are now used for gardening/lawn mowing duties. I cut a dashing figure behind my Honda Izy easy-start.

I too was once in IT and it was kind of expected/to your own advantage to keep your skills fresh - this meant personal spend that one of my employers sometimes reimbursed, the rest didn't. I guess they argued/relied on IT bods being sufficiently interested in or motivated by the subject to make it more of a hobby than an occupation. I never played that game, even when self employed, and am now out of IT. Whether the two are related, I'll leave for you to decide!

I once fancied the 'job' of research, but when I did my degree (as a mature student) I realised there was no such thing as your own time if you were in research. That made me scratch that as a job prospect. You really have to love your subject, be consumed by it, so I can see their is no work/personal budget division.

I think the only personal expenditure I had for work purposes (outside commuting costs obviously) was ink, or pencils leads. I liked to use either a fountain pen or propelling pencil for writing (I was old skool in IT; I used to hand write précis code, schematics, system flow before keying anything in) but that was my choice and I never even thought of asking the boss to sign off on the company coffers.

So I guess the answer to the OP is, in my case, about a tenner a year!

 

[dellzeqq]

I once blew £200 at the haberdashery counter in Peter Jones on samples and forgot all about it, lost the receipt, didn't claim for months afterwards, by which time my relationship with the accounts assistant (she called herself the accountant) had deteriorated to zero, so I ended up saying 'you know what, I'll pay for this shoot) which felt good for all of about five seconds afterwards.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Used to be the odd tea and sarnie until I realised everyone else claimed for everything. I have a secret stash, code named 'the cake fund' - this is used for items which no-one else needs to know about