Into the Dark - Day 6

Day 6 (Wednesday 6th December 2017)

Six sides form the typical shape of a snowflake, due to
the arrangement of water molecules in the ice crystal lattice.
The slang term 'snowflake", meaning a person with an inflated opinion of their
own uniqueness, who is easily offended and poor at coping with challenge
or criticism, was coined as a phrase by Chuck Palahniuk in the 1996 novel Fight Club .
"Generation snowflake",  referring to  young adults of the 2010s, entered common parlance
in 2015 following an incident at Yale University

Traditionally today is the day that people celebrate St Nicholas. In the Italian port of Bari St. Nicholas' statue will be carried by sailors from the Cathedral, where the saint's bones reside, to the sea to bless the water and ensure their safety over the coming year. Being the patron saint of sailors, St Nicholas was the saint that William the Conqueror chose to pray to before setting off across the Channel to invade England in 1066. Most people think of St Nicholas (or Santa Claus or Father Christmas) as the jovial fellow who delivers gifts to good girls and boys. In the Netherlands many children will have woken to find their shoes or clogs filled with gifts and sweets. In parts of Germany, Switzerland and Austria St Nicholas is accompanied by the Knecht Ruprecht who acts as a foil to santa's generosity by giving naughty children lumps f coal, sticks and ashes. I am pleased that today I have a gift to offer to you and it is a treat.

Last year Niall Gavin pledged in his Advent Blog (on this site) not to "wallow in the hollow" - although judging by this year's post 2017 has held its challenges for him, I think he has succeeded in his aim. Niall is a respected and much-liked independent L&D and learning technologies specialist (after having had a successful career working in both the public and private sectors). Prior to helping people develop and grow, Niall spent some time as an actor, a postman and a fruit picker. He writes an enjoyable blog, A Little About a Lot and is active on social media, you can find him on Twitter (his handle is @niallgavinuk). He usually has some great insights that he shares on #LDinsight every Friday morning on Twitter. Niall lives near Worthing on the south coast of England. He is a devoted husband and father. In his spare time he enjoys walking and is also an "armchair astronomer".

*************************************

It's that time of year again, when the wonderful Kate Griffiths-Lambeth (@KateGL) invites contributions to the now-annual Advent Blog series which she curates. This year's theme of Darkness and Dawn has inspired me to dig out an unrealised blog idea from Autumn this year and to flesh it out as my humble contribution.

As Summer moves into Autumn, from my West-facing home office window, I watch the sunset creep further and further South as Earth’s axial tilt moves the UK further away from the Sun. Winter approaches. Dark days ahead. My heart sinks as the clocks go back and my annual feelings of seasonal claustrophobia starts to colour my world. Time to check the weatherproofing, gather in the harvest, and batten down the hatches. Short days, long dark nights. Cold and wet. 

I'm not a Winter person. Did you notice? You'd have thought that the Scot in me would have developed coping strategies by now. Wonder if I have any Mediterranean DNA in me at all. Maybe I have a form of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). Although looking at the NHS 'Choices' info pages (https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder-sad/), I suspect not.

The good news is that the seasons come round relentlessly. The cycle continues. Within a couple of months I'll be eagerly tracking the sunset's slow progress back North again, looking forward to the new seasonal dawn that is Springtime. Just like I do every year.

When I was in full-time, employed work, commuting to and from that there London during the Winter, I'd get up in the dark, got to work in the dark, travel home in the dark and, other than brief sojourns outdoors at lunchtime, spend my whole working week in the dark. 

Maybe it's the years of doing that, being triggered by those memories, that unsettles me. But, of course, I don't work like that any more. A combination of part-time work at my local college and occasional consultancy and accreditation work means I can now balance workplace visits, classroom sessions and working from home and I have taken control of if, when and how I include daytime travel into my work schedule (and now having a Senior Railcard and getting that off-peak fares discount helps too!)

But there are still dark days. I started to feel out of my depth recently and very concerned that I might be letting people down as a result. Imposter syndrome, basically. I wasn't sleeping, felt sick, anxious, scared that I would be found wanting. Everything that I wanted to avoid feeling, I was experiencing. Dark days indeed.

But if I have learned anything in the last three years since my heart surgery and redundancy, by focussing on my physical and mental health recovery and ongoing maintenance, it has been to not be a victim, to not feel that I have to accept uncomfortable situations and feelings as the norm and try to 'push on'. So I sat down and mapped out what was going on for me, clarified what I felt was 'wrong', what I needed to change and what my options might be to effect that change. And then I shared it - with my wife and with my counsellor - and guess what? Whatever decision I came to was going to be OK.

So I had the courageous conversations that I needed to have with the people that could help me resolve the problem and, together, we made some adjustments and it's going to be all right.

Out of the darkness came a new dawn. I'm good enough. And that's good enough for me.

If you’re fighting your own battle that no-one knows anything about, maybe it would be helpful to share how you’re really feeling. There’s no shame in talking stuff through, in asking for some help.

How are you doing?

"Space Matters" - Part One

This is the initial post of a two-part blog about the workplace, inspired by the CIPD HR Leaders’ Network event on the topic.

“Space Matters” wise words from Neil Usher, the head of Workplace at Sky, who was the main speaker at last week’s CIPD HR Leaders’ Network evening.  Late last year I suggested to the CIPD that I bring together a collection of passionate advocates for workplace strategy as, increasingly, I am of the opinion that leaders (both in and outside HR) need to be mindful of the space and surroundings in which we expect people to perform and be productive. 

Selagas Cano Architects office, SpainPhoto by Iwan Baan

Our environment (be that at home or at work) has changed significantly over the past two decade and continues to evolve. Technology, transport, the manner in which we work, collaboration, project-based targets, generational expectations and capabilities – all of these have influenced the requirements and individuals’ expectations of the place in which we work.

Making a place accommodating and pleasant in which to work is certainly important – rudimentary necessities such as clean, accessible lavatories/broader wash room facilities, sufficient air, warmth, drinking water – are indeed a fundamental need. However, there are other quite basic requirements that all too frequently are ignored in deference to cost constraints. Personal, secure storage (especially as “hot desking” is popular, combined with flexible working practices, which often result in a change of clothing as a person moves from one environment to another), employees need somewhere to keep their possessions. 

Communal spaces are important – as Lynda Gratton says in her book Hot Spots, we are at times energetic, positive social animals and will congregate where we find a spark of energy (be that the water cooler, a vending machine, local watering hole or around popular colleague’s desk) if not given an area to meet and mingle we might miss out on enjoying the benefits of a Hot Spot’s energy. Many of our best and innovative ideas come from bouncing problems and concepts off others, not from sitting in isolation in a cubicle or “Brainstorming” at a boardroom table.

Intentional office Hot Spot

Another basic, but often ignored, human requirement is natural light – it is well known from numerous research studies that daylight enhances human health – workers exposed to daylight sleep, on average 46 minutes longer than their natural-light-starved colleagues and sleep has a huge impact of wellbeing, for example reducing stress levels. Yet according to research, by Mental Health Research UK, one in ten workers in the UK have no access to natural light at work and 30% of us leave before dawn and return after dusk during the winter months. 

Screen shot from The Apartment, 1960
No windows, no natural light, no colour, no view, no plants...

We instinctively know that daylight is good for us. SAD afflicts many during the dark winter months and can have serious ramifications – it is usually induced by a prolonged lack of exposure to natural light and yet 46% of European offices provide no natural daylight. Employers have a duty of care to their employees and, knowingly putting people into a situation that is bad for them is wrong. It took us a while to appreciate the harm from smoking and asbestos, I suspect that depriving people of natural daylight will be seen in a similar light in the future (excuse the pun).

De La Rue Technology Centre, Hampshire, UK

Daylight is not to be confused with sunlight. In a modern workplace sunlight can prove problematical, for example by having an adverse impact on heat, especially in offices with large expanses of glass, and the glare can make it hard to work (who hasn’t had problems trying to see a screen in direct sunlight and pulled down the blinds – thereby negating the positive efficacy of access to natural light?). However, these problems are due to our technology and not an individual’s needs. We require sunlight to produce Vitamin D (useful for healthy bones and teeth) and to encourage our bodies to create vital hormones, which regulate the internal clocks that influence our moods, appetites and energy levels. 

Komorebi (Japanese word meaning sunshine through leaves)
with credit to Jo Stephenson

I am writing this post while sitting in the garden – the sound of the birds, the warm sunshine on my skin and the scent of the blossom is wonderful. I can feel myself perking up just by sitting here. Fresh air and sunshine are good. It is proven that wounds heal more swiftly when exposed to daylight and sunshine (Florence Nightingale insisted that her Nightingale Wards had their long sides south facing, with a windows that could be opened between each single bed to let in the sunshine and fresh air - the ensuing Edwardian habit of wheeling the ill (especially those with Tuberculosis) and infirm in their beds out into the sunshine was less misguided than some of us believe.

Bed-ridden patients getting fresh air
City Hospital, early 1900s 
(Photo, City of Edinburgh Museums and Galleries Collection)

It took the threat of biological warfare to encourage two Ministry of Defence scientists, based at Porton-Down in the UK, to undertake research into the effect of sunshine and fresh air on bacteria. Henry Druett and K.R. May were concerned by what would happen if deadly pathogens were exploded over a major city – how long would the microbes remain a threat? To prevent the bacteria being blown away, they wound cobweb around a comb and dusted it with the common gut microbe, Escherichia coli. Some combs were placed in the open air on the rooftop and others placed beside them in a covered container. Much to the scientists’ surprise, the bacteria when exposed to sunshine and fresh air died within two hours, whereas the enclosed samples were still thriving and viable. This research might make us want rethink our attitude towards air conditioning. It is so easy for bacteria or fungi to breed in warm, sheltered spaces. I am aware of a couple of Directors severely poisoned by the unclean air pumped into their offices after aircon filters were not cleaned or replaced for a number of years – one’s lungs were reduced to those of  a 75 year old, despite being in her early 40’s and the other, who was not so swiftly diagnosed, has since not been able to take on full-time employment for nearly a decade. Increasingly employers will be held to account for putting employees’ health at risk.

Often found in Air Conditioning systems

While on the subject of nursing and health – nurses provide a great example as to how sensible workplace design can enhance employee health and wellbeing and also improve patient care. My grandfather, whom I have mentioned in an earlier blog about his involvement in the invention of the iron lung, was a medical professor, based out of Guy’s Hospital in London (which, by coincidence, is one of the hospitals in the Foundation Trust where I have the privilege of being a Governor). Early last century he undertook research into the amount of walking that a nurse does each day and found that over a third of the time spent at work involved walking, with just over half being dedicated to actual patient care. He argued that if you could reduce the amount of time getting to and from patients and the nursing station, pharmacy, etc… there would be more time for care. A similar study in the USA a little earlier this century came up with the same findings. At Guy’s and St Thomas’ we are trying to make the environment better for patients and staff. Simple changes, like moving a facility away from the noise and bustle of the public areas, has resulted in less mistakes and lives have been saved by transferring the intensive care ward from the top floor to closer to A&E at ground level – thereby reducing the time that a patient takes to reach required support and treatment – time wasted in a lift. Changing a workplace for the better does not require specialist knowledge – it just requires the application of common sense and an appreciation of the fact that “space matters”. But be mindful of Winston Churchill's words:

"We shape ours spaces and then they shape us."