Use a head band with your pony tail, or a bump, or clip the front (bangs) to create a small bump. put all your hair up and take 2 or 4 chunks and use a curling iron and create waves/curls.

Take your hair in a pony tail at the nape of your neck and use your finger to trace down the center of the back of your head. Divide the area at the top of the pony tail into a hole, then take your pony tail and pull it through that hole.
Can you have stuff other than a pony tail as long as it's up? I'd reccomend looking stuff up on wikihow.

Wear it in a cute braid, or maybe but a few bump it's and bump up your hair. Put it into a pony tail and braid two sides. Two pony tails, one on the top, one a little lower, makes since? Also google pony tails, or maybe go to hair web website .

using just a hair clip, grasp ur hair (like your do with a ponytail) then lift the 'snake' up over the top of your head and then use the clip to 'clip' on the 'snake' plus surrounding hair and let the end of the 'snake' flop over the clip (so the snake is in an S sort of shape) - so it ends up as a loose but neat hairstyle
takes 5 seconds :P
another one i do is the one where u take the upper half of ur hair and put it into a ponytail, and then the bottom half is loose....if ur workplace allows that