We asked our community on LinkedIn what work-related things they wanted to unf*ck in 2022 and here's our list (so far)!
We will be exploring these themes in 2022, so stay tuned!
1. Be a Human
Stop focusing on fixing weaknesses; instead, super-charge strengths. (James Eves)
Business wear... have we broken the convention of wearing suits, (corporate uniforms) to work? (Steve Caddell)
Understanding that having fun doesn't equal being unprofessional. Laughing is healthy and has nothing to do with bad work ethics. (Nura Al-Talawy)
Stop putting perfection on a pedestal - let's hear more about failure than big wins, quick wins, victories. We just inhibit people's creativity and openness to trying things out. (Naomi Davies)
'Keep emotions out of the workplace'. We are human beings...with emotions. It is our emotions that drive our performance and ultimately success. They tell us what's important to us and what to pay attention to. Ignoring your own emotions and the emotions of those in your organisations is 'sh*te-y thinking'! 😀 (Paul Cheetham)
We need to promote intelligent failure. Failure isn't a thing to avoid it is something to learn from. F.A.I.L. Fantastic Attempt In Learning. Nearly all the world's greatest inventions have come from failure. Fail, learn and try again. We need to create workplace cultures that embrace failure and help people to learn. (Mark Crabtree)
Stop trying to over-optimise team outputs through processes and put that energy into caring for your team (mental health-wise, etc.). Gain some trust in your people, they'll do great! (Nura Al-Talawy)
Curated perfection on social media. It's just not helpful. (Nicola Jayne Little)
Recognise that jobs are "just" jobs and people have a lot of other things going on. (Nura Al-Talawy)
2. Have Good Conversations
Create a safe climate for honest, open, frank, respectful dialogue at all levels and stop avoiding the tough stuff! (Andrea Newton)
Stop hiding from the things below the waterline - let's take a peep, see what we can do, it's less scary when we are all facing things together with honesty #radicalcandour. (Naomi Davies)
Putting folks into generic fishbowls (millennials, HiPos, etc.) and thinking they all want the same thing - how do we stop it with all the assumptions? (Elizabeth Lembke)
More focus on encouraging/practising good mental health. If nothing else, encouraging the sharing of techniques and ideas to strengthen mental health for all. (Sharing. What a great concept! We're all human, after all). (Alan Green)
Ask for and give feedback often - it's how you'll get to see the impact you're making and it's how you'll keep learning, both of which will grow your confidence. (Cath Smythe)
Go through all the policies and throw out all those that implicitly assume people are untrustworthy and lazy? (Colin Newlyn)
3. Sort Out Leadership
Management by fear - how can we show there’s a much better way? (James Eves)
Sh*tty managers who make life horrendous held to account, trained and out on the right track top-down. (Fiona Kearns)
The loudest becoming leaders, rather than the best. (Jule Wilson)
Leaders who don't role model behaviour (Liz Cook)
Leaders/managers (still) thinking that the things which kept people engaged in organisations/teams/work before the pandemic remain the same. 😊 (Helen Worral)
4. Stop The Hustle
The culture of work, work, work. We all need time to rest and recuperate. (Daisy Doba)
Ban out of hours work related emails from managers to employees/their peers period! No excuses…..I know people who are glued to their work phones around the clock checking emails as they could come in at any time - the mental toll of such practices is immense! I have experienced this as an employee before I became a fully fledged self-employed 🏴☠️ and it’s damaging in nature…..and often uncalled for! (Martin Callus)
Four day week! Or at least a redressing of time spent at/on work. (Laura Rothwell)
Nurturing and regenerating ourselves and those we work with. (Dr Hannah Bryan)
5. Create Better Workplaces
Take work procedures off the pedestal - someone made them up, if they aren’t fit for purpose, how can we change ‘em? (Elizabeth Lembke)
One-size-fits-all approach to working - we need to embrace individuality and difference as something to be harnessed and celebrated rather than feared and ignored. (Rob Baker)
Negligent onboarding - how can we make sure everyone feels safe, protected and that they belong? (Michelle Minnikin)
Put as much time, care and effort into "procuring" the right person for your business as you would an expensive printer or piece of software. (Becca Brighty)
Create the culture and values you want to live by. (Dr Claire Hepworth)
Internships are guaranteed the living wage as minimum earnings. (Barry Docherty)
Thinking that your purpose and values are poster fodder and should not influence how you do business or treat your people - how do we live these? (Elizabeth Lembke)
Organisations should hire for potential, remove expectations of degree holder status for entry-level roles and look for people who sparkle instead ✨(Jess Hardie)
Rethink how job applications are worded. Jobs are not exciting, especially if they are desk-based. They’re not fantastic opportunities, unless the fantasy involves creating new worlds from the imagination. They don’t all come from wonderful employers. Many don’t even have salaries! And ‘competitive salary’ frequently means they’re offering less than everyone else! No job description needs ‘good sense of humour unless it’s writing comedy scripts! We work to pay bills. All of us. If there’s a vacancy, don’t pretty it up because you don’t know what the duties involve- sit down with those who do and list the reality. Start a new honest trend in job descriptions. Now extend that to management and customer service! Improve the whole organisation from the bottom up, not top-down! (Karen Macklen)
Let's take health and (mental) well-being seriously - let's talk about it, let's teach it, let's make the workplace healthy and well. 😃(Sylvia Tillman)
Stop killing | maiming | disabling | poisoning | victimising | exploiting working people to make owners | employers | executives more and more money. The numbers globally are utterly staggering. (Vince Butler)
Reverse the 50 year trend of plundering working peoples earnings to hand that cash onto those same owners | employers | executives. (Vince Butler)
6. Be a Pirate
Stand up to (if you can) or walk away from (if you can't) toxic people. Hold true to yourself and recognise their toxicity is their problem, not yours. (Kath Smythe)
Waiting for other people (or tech) to fix things/save us - how can we organise to save ourselves? (Michelle Minnikin)
Dig in to identify what really matters to you and what you're great at and then go large on spending as much of your time on work that aligns with your values and strengths. (Kath Smythe)
Learn how to set boundaries and say no to things. Recognise that your organisation doesn't own your soul. (Michelle Minnikin)
Don't be afraid to stand out or feel on the edges of "the norm". The "norm" isn't working, we need innovation and innovators by their nature exist at the edges. If you're on the edges, your probably bringing different and that can make others feel uncomfortable. (Kath Smythe)
Find out more about what we're up to here!
What else would you add? Comment here or on the original LinkedIn Post...