A bit more than just the birds and the bees

Life has had a bit of a buzz to it over the past week. I went to the CIPD’s inaugural Festival of Work and had a wonderful time connecting with friends and contacts, putting faces to names and learning about new products and services. I particularly enjoyed hearing Garry Kasparov's thoughts on technology (below shows him speaking beside a picture of his beating  a number of computers simultaneously in 1985 - he famously lost to Deep Blue in 1997 - a moment he now sees as a triumph for humans, rather than his personal loss. He is confident that we have a great future ahead of us thanks to AI and technology.)

I also had the good fortune to attend a splendid garden party at Marlborough House (great fun, despite the rain). We were raising money for Bees For Development - a charity that helps disadvantaged people, living in some of the world’s poorest regions, to lift themselves out of extreme poverty through becoming beekeepers.  There was a fascinating display of traditional hives, these ones are from Africa: a bamboo hive from Uganda and a split cane one from Ethiopia - these would usually be plastered on the outside with a mixture of soil and cow dung and given a grass roof to protect from the rain). 

We were joined by some true Queen Bees of UK society, including Martha Kearney (a patron of the charity), Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall 

and Mary Berry (who was sporting a wonderful jacket covered in embroidered bees). 

Bees have been quite a focus for me.

Last weekend I gave a tour of my beehive to some neighbours, a delightful couple with their equally delightful teenage sons – they had won the viewing as a prize in a local charity auction. The bees behaved beautifully (and they have made some amazing wax constructions inside the hive where there was a gap in the brood box, which made the inspection even more interesting for my guests). 

I enjoyed explaining some of the weird facts about bees – did you know that:

• the queen can select what sex egg she lays, but that her choice is based on the shape of the cell that the workers bees have made for her;
• pollen is multi-coloured and so is honey (it all depends on the plant from which it originates);
• a worker bee will usually live for up to 6 weeks but a queen can live for up to 5 years (it is believed that a bee lives for circa 500 miles of flight – an over-wintering bee, which flies less, can live for a number of months);
• humans have been using bee products (wax and honey) for over 9,000 years;
• honey is almost the only food that doesn’t go off and remains in an edible state (so ignore those “best before” labels) – jars of honey have been discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs and their contents were found to be still edible;
• the average bee will make a 12^th of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime; and
• the male bees (drones) have big eyes, furry backs and no stings (they also do very little to help with the work of the hive but get fed and cared for and are left to do their own thing until its time to buzz off and have sex).

We laughed about the number of similarities between bees and humans. All in all, my guests and I had a good time. However, this is not a post about bees or even their resemblance to people. It is what happened afterwards that made me think…

Drawing of a bee by Dame Judi Dench
one of a number of postcards auctioned at the Bee Garden Party

Late this afternoon, there was a knock on our door – the family had returned with two boxes of eggs as a thank-you gift, as they said that they had had such a good time. How wonderful! The eggs had been laid by their hens (London is more rural than many people think) and there were different types in each box – dinky little Bantam ones and a larger collection, coloured a delicate shade of blue, laid by Araucana hens. It was the eggs that have got my brain whirring and made me decide to blog.

Are chickens eggs any different if they have blue, white or brown shells? Are some better for you than others? Why do yolks vary in colour from deep orange to a pale yellow?

So this is, indirectly, becoming a post about diversity.

What makes you feel you are different? Is there a difference or are appearances deceptive and superficial? Why do we reject and fear people who are different to us? What can we do to overcome stereotypes? Why are some people “hen-pecked”, whilst others like to be dominant and “rule the roost”?

Perhaps we should start with the hens…

The claim that Brown eggs are better for you than white ones is a myth. All hens’ eggs have the potential to be the same in taste and nutritional value, regardless of the colour of their shell. The colour of egg that a hen lays is dictated by the colour of its ear lobe (yes, hens have earlobes – it is a small feather-free area just below the bird’s ear). Hens with white lobes lay white eggs, those with red or brown skinned lobes lay brown eggs.

Many people erroneously believe that brown eggs are more nutritious and/or taste better than white ones. It is true that they usually cost more, but this is primarily due to the fact that the hens that lay them are larger and hence require more food, so their eggs are more expensive to produce. White eggs, due to the smaller size of the birds, are more cost efficient for commercial egg farmers to produce than brown (or indeed blue or green), which is why they are more common in the shops. It is the hens’ diet and the environment where they live that makes the difference as far as nutrition is concerned; for example, hens that roam outdoors produce eggs with 3 to 4 times the vitamin D content of their indoor-reared, restricted counterparts that have no access to direct sunlight. The environment for the hen is important for the quality of the egg, as is the condition of the bird: stressed chickens and older, tired hens or those that are hen-pecked and hence last to get near food lay eggs with thinner shells.

"Dead Hen" by Elizabeth Frink, 1957

I see similarities between egg-laying hens and humans in the workplace (which is not to say that people are battery hens) – like the birds, most workers have little immediate control over their environment (even changing the temperature and air conditioning can prove problematical). I am convinced that every individual has the potential to produce great results – regardless of colour, race, background or size. Like chickens, people deliver better outcomes when they are in a place that they find stress-free, supportive and conducive towards their giving of their best. We each need a situation that suits our physical well-being, with daylight, fresh air, an appropriate ambient temperature for us not to be in discomfort, and adequate space, a workplace where we can perform well without feeling under undue pressure or fearing harassment or bullying from those around us. If you want to know more about how to create a fantastic workplace, I urge you to read Neil Usher’s excellent book: The Elemental Workplace.

Hens with their Young, by Edgar Hunt 1905

Hens, like humans, are not always kind to each other – there’s a reason why we use the phrase “hen-pecked”. It is true that hens have a pecking order with some dominant and others having to play a more submissive role in their community. The term ‘pecking order’ for hens was first coined in 1921 by Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe to describe the hierarchy of flock dynamics and it came into popular usage in the 1930s. A flock in the wild is as strong as its weakest member. There is a dominance hierarchy in many societies and it is closely linked to the survival of the fittest – it serves a useful purpose in that it prevents the need for constant fighting - it ensures that the most dominant in a group can have access to limited resources ahead of the others and thereby maintain health and strength. Hens will peck and drive away an ill or injured member of their flock (a survival trait that has remained as a behaviour amongst domesticated fowl). It is important not to introduce fewer than 2 hens at a time to an existing flock (and even then they need to be kept apart and integrated gently over a period of weeks), unless you wish to risk a bird being literally pecked to death. 

Introducing hens

Humans are unlikely to kill a new colleague; we are not hens – we are rational beings and can control our baser urges. However, we are often unfriendly and unwilling to allow a new employee to socialise with an existing group of friends. It can feel very lonely and isolating joining a new team. Try not to be bird-brained and foul (see what I did there); a little kindness towards others can make a big difference to a new colleague – you never know, you also might make a new friend.

We, like hens, need to be well cared for. It is true that an employer has a duty of care towards the workers. However, we also owe it to ourselves to be careful ourselves. There are things each of us can do to help keep ourselves physically and mentally, including, but not limited to:

• exercising,
• eating a balanced diet,
• sleeping for long enough on a regular basis to enable our bodies and minds to recharge,
• drinking sufficient water to meet our bodies’ needs,
• giving ourselves time in an environment that helps with our personal well-being (this could be in a gym, an art gallery, a field or forest or by the sea or near water)

These all help us to remain healthy and productive. Do you make the effort to be kind to yourself?

And finally – time to answer that long-asked question – “What came first, the chicken or the egg?”  The answer is the egg: hard-shelled eggs were laid by reptiles long before chickens came into existence.

We can learn a lot from the birds and the bees.

Ukrainian painted egg

"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."