My job as a trainer, consultant and conference speaker involves meeting a large number of people. I have lots of interesting discussions and certain themes tend to recur. One of them is: what is happening to the world of work? So many people seem to be complaining of work overload and a lack of work-life balance. Organisations’ expectations of their employees seem to have gone from high to very high if not actually too high in so many cases. Conflict, tension and even bullying seem far more common than they used to be.

 

No doubt this is due to the interaction of various complex factors rather than one simple casue, but I would be interested to know what other people’s perceptions are. Please click on the 'Comment' button below and share your views.

Some people have asked me to say more about what is meant by an online community. I have already done this on our sister site, Social Work Focus so if you are interested in knowing more about this, click ‘Social Work Focus’ on the top menu and then when you arrive at the Social Work Focus site click ‘Blogs’ on the top menu there.

An article on mental health in the workplace has recently been posted on our sister site, Social Work Focus. For me this is an important subject that needs much closer attention. There are clear, well-established links between stress and mental health, so the workplace can be significant for mental helath. Equally, people with mental health problems will not leave their difficulties at the factory gate or office door. If we are to take workplace well-being seriously, then mental health - or, perhaps more appropriately, mental well-being - needs to be a key part of our thinking.

 

Neil Thompson posted a reminder regarding the 75th anniversary of the Gresford mining disaster of 1934. If you are interested in the history of mining then you should go and see the coal mining in north Wales exhibition at Bershan Heritage Centre near Wrexham. You need to be quick as it closes on the 31st of October, 2009.

I was pleased to see loss and grief in the workplace come up as an item on one of the discussion forums (and not only because my book on the subject got a plug there!). I have long believed that loss and grief issues are a key part of well-being. Very often people do not recognise the significance of grief when they see it and, even when it is recognised, it is often not handled very well - no doubt because of the anxieties and insecurities involved. So, I believe that there is a strong case for paying more attention to how grief affects people's well-being. I especially believe that there is  a case for taking seriously the concerns it raises in the workplace, as no workplace - not a single one - will be free from the effects of grief. It is not a case of whether loss issues will arise, but rather when.

Today sees not only the launch of the 'sister' site, Social Work Focus (www.socialworkfocus.com), but also the completion of our first month online. It has been pleasing to get such a lot of positive feedback about the site in such a short period of time. If you are finding the site to be of benefit, then please do spread the word by telling anyone who might be interested about what is on offer here for free - and, of course, the more people who use the site, the more of a resource (as a community) it becomes for everyone. If you have any suggestions for how to improve or develop the site (or you want to report any glitches), please use the Suggestions Box facility on the Member Menu.