You may have read my article 2 weeks ago called ‘Just STOP!’ and how the diet and exercise industries have us turning ourselves inside out trying to find what’s best for us, as individuals, by trying ‘the next best thing’.
I’m turning my attention this week to the work environment, and I will focus on that, rather than schooling for children, etc. Thanks to the recent pandemic, many people of varying ages have experienced working or learning from home. I think it certainly caused many workplaces and education providers to move into a space that they had ignored or only ‘dipped their toes into’ for years – ‘allowing’ people to work from places other than the workplace. Initially we saw many articles on how much happier people were. Now I’m certainly seeing more articles come through about social isolation and how working from home is a major contributor to the growing mental health issue in society and burnout.
Here is where I am calling a spade, a ‘shovel’ and a term from my teenage years – ‘Derrrr’!
We, as a society, use social isolation as a punishment and have done for centuries. We already know the outcomes for those who are socially isolated for varying lengths of times. Surely, you’ve all sat through the yearly mandatory training like me? Socially isolating someone in the workplace is a form of bullying and harassment.
As for burnout. As a society we wear ‘busy’ as a badge of honour and expect more and more from people – instant information accessible, being constantly contactable, etc. Is it any wonder that people are physically exhausted, disengaged with their work and colleagues, and are cynical about their job and career? Oh and on top of that, meditate, journal, do yoga, go to the gym, run after the kids / spouse / family, attend to the housework / finances / groceries / socialise / etc. Have I forgotten anything?
I remember thinking years ago, before my burnout – I just want everything to stop.
Just stop.
All the demands – just stop.
So now we have ‘quiet quitting’ and the ‘great resignation’.
This is an opportunity – an opportunity to shape society to be so much more inclusive.
We, as a society, have never really catered for women across their lifespan, in the workplace. Not really. Historically, jobs have been designed for men who have someone at home, taking care of all the things that end. Traditionally a widow or a single mother would have to do what ever work they could, that fit in around family.
Now there are so many more single parents that a workforce primarily designed for men is causing lots of friction. If you or your workplace is to focus on the future, after all that’s where growth and profitability are, you need to take the lessons of the past but look forward.
I’m advocating that flexibility be the focus.
Just as with diet and exercise – there is NO one solution for every person and every workplace! Whilst principles will remain, execution and integration are unique. It requires communication, a willingness to listen, a commitment to dialogue (as opposed to debate, dissertation or otherwise) and flexibility.
Let’s take a basic example from a workshop I attended recently. A mother with children, middle management, went to her supervisor to discuss cutting her hours – she wanted to be at home more for her children. The supervisor agrees to decrease her hours ‘as long as she gets all her work done.’. Effectively, decreasing her hours and income if she still achieved outcomes in alignment with her full-time work responsibilities, otherwise she would need to return to the workplace full-time. Her workload didn’t decrease, but her time at work and remuneration did. This lady was grateful that her workplace agreed to the suggested cut in hours and pay. Yes, you read that right – grateful.
There are so many aspects to the flexibility I’m advocating – time being one and location being another. One thing the pandemic has increasingly revealed is work and life are not separate.
Work-life balance is a fallacy.
Work is a part of life and should be viewed as such, not only by the individual.
Sure, there are duties and tasks that require presence in a workplace – there is no disputing that.
There are tasks and duties that don’t require actual presence in the workplace though. Why not consider providing some flexibility, if the ‘worker’ wants it?
Let me assure you – the ‘workers’ are certainly considering it.
Why not be proactive and be part of designing a future for your workplace, making it flexible and inclusive?
Need some help or an outsider’s perspective? I’d love to hear from you.
