Since the onset of Covid and the subsequent strains and stresses that everyone has felt through vast changes around us, resulting in huge social, political and economic shifts, we cannot help but notice that, with the added pressure of the advent of Christmas, everyone is saying: “What a year!” The consequences for the world of HR are seen in increased mental health challenges amongst workforces. The upside though is that there is now much greater awareness of mental health challenges in general.
Covid has taught us about enormous flexibility in working and that remote and hybrid working can be made to work very effectively, without loss of efficiency and productivity, but it does require more thought and even better leadership and management. The shift to more hybrid and flexible working has made some employers think about the benefits of using psychometrics to ensure that workplaces are structured appropriately - virtually, or otherwise. Individuals need different kinds of structure to work effectively according to their psychometric profile – whether alone or team working, whether at home or office-based. So, we have seen a proliferation in awareness of different needs for different people. Out of terrible adversity has emerged greater creativity and awareness.
Those of us of a certain age often look back and think that things have become much worse, but one of my sons pointed out to me, through the marvellous book ‘Factfulness - Ten Reason’s Why We’re Wrong About The World and Why Things Are Better Than You Think', that actually many things have been greatly improved over the years. I stand corrected on my view of matters going into decline and thoroughly recommend this book to reposition the thought process. Out of adversity and out of creativity, we are heading in many good directions.
We have something of an energy crisis on our hands both as a result of climate change and the pressure caused by the energy supply from Russia and elsewhere, but I noticed on the positive news that the terrible distress caused by Covid in turn has produced some positive outcomes. The way we have dealt with Covid medically and in communications, has resulted in positive outcomes in research and in the application of IT; research has been put into certain kinds of diseases on which there might otherwise have been less focus.
Other positive mentions for this year even include a 'World Bee Day’. The amount of creativity in our local communities is impressive - building new playgrounds, investigating new recipes, and turning libraries into social centres have had huge social impact. A group of two artists in London turned their street into a community power station fuelled by sunlight, with the headline “The ‘solar punks’ turning their London street into a community power station”.
Life is not all bad. Some consultancies have opened charities to increase access to education and skills by addressing the underlying barriers that hold people back from disadvantaged backgrounds.
So, I am looking to turn the negativity on its head and give ourselves some congratulations for the good things we do. Many people have used the thinking time that the pandemic has given us, as an opportunity to rethink their lives and work towards shaping their own life in the way they want it to be, rather than settling for what has become a habituation.
I’m a great one for setting objectives both for myself and for our team, and will be doing the same for 2023, not just in relation to work but in all the areas of our life, which are easy to forget.
It’s never too late to change old patterns and rethink; 2022 has been tough but out of adversity has come creativity and positive change. Here’s to 2023, and a thank you to 2022 for giving us the opportunity to hone our focus for what is to come.
Happy Christmas!
