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 other inter-related multi-factorial issues?
So, what about our workplaces?
(Rant alert)
Let’s not let our firms be the ones where staff say, “We’ve got a wellbeing policy but management ignore it”.
And they do. I’ve heard those words so often.
And despite all my therapy training it still makes me (expletive) furious.
Yes, we’re busy.
Yes, we’re overloaded, constrained by deadlines, demanding clients, time sheets, costs targets, home pressures, and, and …
But that needn’t stop us caring for our staff and keeping the promises in our policies.
(There. End of rant. Thank you. I feel better now.)
Maybe letting some NY resolutions slip is no big deal really? Who truly cares if we’re still the same weight next year?
Certainly climate change is a big big deal. We all need to have a world where we can be around next year. But the part we personally play in preserving the planet is probably pretty small?
But we can do something about looking after our people (colleagues, staff, CEO, cleaners). We have agency. We can walk the walk.
(More on the How of getting to grips with resistance inertia to follow …)
*(1 ) an avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds (dictionary)
(2) just talking the walk