What do they have in common? Observation in the breach? Virtue signalled? Lip service*? Why are they so hard to implement? Well, maybe … vested interests, it’s hard work, there’s the cost (time, money, inconvenience), “Nice idea. But …”, it’s someone else’s problem, laziness, I’ve got too much on my plate already, the problem’s just too big / complex / depressing, “I’m all right, Jack”, and probably a multitude of
Problem is we don’t want to fess up to seeming weak, vulnerable, a liability, stress, anxiety, depression. So we tough it out at work until something snaps. But what if the culture was more tolerant of the human condition? One way of normalising ordinary pressures is to have senior management share their struggles with mental ill health. Getting buy-in from the top. Behind the mask, some will have experienced intolerable
You feel it would be good to do something (or something more) to prevent staff burning out? But it seems so complex, so onerous? But it’s not … Ready, aim, fire … How about setting up a wellbeing group for your firm / org / enterprise / one-person band / multinational / other and have a senior member of the firm (you?) drive and champion it? 5 things to consider:
No, none. What … so … ever. Well ... … research over the last 40 years* has highlighted 6 major areas of workplace life which can lead to burnout. These are they: 1 Workload Sometimes job demands exceed human limits and resources to fulfil the requirements. 2 Control A sense of personal autonomy in the workplace is vital. 3 Reward Insufficient reward (whether financial, institutional, or social) increases our
Invest £1 for a £5 return. Seriously? How? A study by Deloitte in January 2020 highlighted that in the UK a sixth of workers experienced a mental health problem at any one time. (That’s over 16%. Maybe 16% of your staff?) And that stress, anxiety and depression were considered responsible for almost half of working days lost in recent years due to health issues. (Of which a huge chunk is
For many of us ‘well-being’ has become ‘ill-being’. Having given training for groups* over the last while I’ve learned a few things about the pressures we all face, especially if we’re running a business. And that sometimes it’s good to be selfish. As we’re told before every flight, “put on your own oxygen mask first, before attempting to help those around you”. And sometimes we need to think of ourselves
