Amy’s blog – Making the workplace work for you

Several years ago, I was giving a presentation on a recent project – a big audience of my peers, but I was feeling confident and prepared. And then, five minutes in, someone in the front row fell asleep… Was my presentation that bad? Was it boring? Why sit in the front row and be so blatantly rude?

Some weeks later I discovered the sleeping was actually caused by a medical condition. I didn’t know, so I made an assumption, but your medical history isn’t generally something you talk about in the work place. I’d been angry and doubted myself for no real reason.

Think about what you know about the people around you right now. Could your morning peanut butter on toast be a problem for the person you sit next to because of a peanut allergy? Does your team mate avoid going out for drinks because they struggle to hear in a noisy environment? Is the person a bank of desks away avoiding interaction in order to get their work done, or is today a challenging mental health day?

We all have things about ourselves that we keep private, but some of this information can be really helpful to share. It could be:

• Information to help keep you safe – telling your manager about the signs of a medical condition and what to do in case of an emergency could potentially save your life. Occupational health can help with an adjustment plan to keep you safe.
  • Example: if you know a diabetic and you spot the signs that their blood sugar levels are low, you can give them a nudge to check them – and maybe have a Mars bar handy….
• Information to stop your colleagues doing the wrong thing – if you know that certain reactions or behaviours are normal for you, or if other people’s actions will do more harm than good, sharing that can save a lot of misunderstandings and problems
  • Example: For a lot of us, our personal space is just that – personal! And while hugging in the work place isn’t exactly common, for some people it can make them deeply uncomfortable. Similarly, if you hate being the centre of attention, getting presented with a birthday card and singing from your team may be a hard ‘No’ for you. If you have boundaries, inform people of what they are.
• Information to make our lives easier – If you could ask your colleagues to do the one simple thing that would make your time in and out of the workplace easier, what would it be? What small change could you make for a colleague that you hadn’t even considered before?
  • Example: Think about your team getting together, socially. Friday night, maybe heading for a drink at a local pub or bar after work is a fairly easy default. But how many of your team don’t work on Fridays? How many of the team have caring responsibilities that mean they have to get home? How many people prefer not to be around alcohol, or don’t have the spare cash to spend on a night out, or find noisy environments aren’t their ‘thing’? The message isn’t to stop socialising, but to think about making the event more inclusive – what might they prefer to do instead?

You don’t have to share everything with everyone all the time. But have a think. Is there one piece of information you could share that would make being in the workplace a little easier for you? Who would you trust to know that information?

Naomi’s blog is a great example of how sharing something personal with someone she trusted had a really positive impact on her work and home life. Have a read of it here.

If, like Naomi, we all shared a bit more, and talked more openly about our needs, think how much better the workplace could work for everyone.