Spongebob Squarepants, Superman in action or an elaborate pattern with a wide diversity of colours? The alternatives seem to be boundless in the arsenal of the combatants in the so called “Post-it war”. What began as a corporate college contest in Paris known as “La guerre de Post-it” has since then spread beyond the borders of France and is rapidly becoming a symbol of uninhibited individuality and aesthetic prowess.

Using post-it notes of varying colour, office workers spend a lot of time and effort to create e.g. characters from popular culture, pinning them to the office windows. Once one such collage has been spotted, it does not take long for rivals across the street to respond with their own patterns and figures. Some managers feel concerned because of the risk for diversion from more urgent working matters at hand. However, it is arguable that the effort needed to create post-it collages requires social bonding and a talent for organization among the participants, features that might come in handy for productivity. According to the British newspaper Guardian, a French manager claimed that post-it battles brought people together that otherwise would not have met.

With post-it battles erupting in other countries, e.g. Sweden, it seems that the Parisians have found a way of expressing individuality that is appealing to bored employees both in and outside of France. In any way, it is a much more delightful war than its real counterparts in Libya and Afghanistan and a welcome distraction in an otherwise tumultuous and seemingly incomprehensive world.

 Daniel Nykvist