Tech-savy 'Gossips' the new office Yuppies

Nearly a third of office workers surveyed admitted to spending over £10 (NZ$30) a week on coffee.

LONDON - An iPod and two mobile phones are the latest must-have accessories along with Sushi for the status-conscious British office worker, according to a survey released today.

The poll, conducted for recruitment firm Office Angels, found 67 per cent of 1500 respondents considered so-called "micro-gadgets" like Blackberrys, laptop memory sticks and small mobile phones to be the ultimate status symbols.

Office Angels branded the people in the survey as GOSSIPS (Gadget Obsessed Status Symbol Infatuated Professionals), a morphed version of the archetypal 1980s Yuppie - Young Urban Professional.

Almost half (45 per cent) of those questioned thought any ambitious worker should own at least two mobile phones - one for work calls and the other for social chit chat.

The survey also found food such as sushi, organic salads and sashimi - thinly sliced raw seafood - were rated highly by office workers compared with traditional sandwiches or burgers with chips.

Nearly a third of office workers also admitted to spending over £10 (NZ$30) a week on coffee, even if they could get the beverage for free at work.

- REUTERS