Share some of my What conflict resilient and engaged workplaces look - PDF document

28/11/2017 OEM physicians Medical specialists ● Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Creating Conflict Resilient ● Part of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians − Work with: Workplaces ● People − Workplaces − Work systems − Dr David Eaton Cultures − MBBS (Hons), ICOM (NIOHS NOHCS), FAFOEM (RACP) Specialist Occupational and Environmental Physician Bendigo Occupational and Environmental Medicine Our discussions today Share some of my What conflict resilient and engaged workplaces look like feel like ● experience Individuals − Coworkers / colleagues − working for very Managers − Leaders − diverse Touch on managing individual problems from a systems perspective ● organisations 1

28/11/2017 Properties of healthy gardens Most importantly… ● They are inviting − We like being in them − They make us feel good − 2

28/11/2017 Other properties of healthy gardens Gestalt ● − The whole is greater than the sum of the parts − Contain a diversity of plants, fungi, insects − Each has specialised functions − Complement and support each other − Cannot exist without each other Productive ● Serve important functions: ● Oxygen / food / construction materials − Many more… − Resist invasion by weeds, pests and diseases ● Suited to their environment and climate ● Monitor and change with the seasons ● ... Other properties of healthy gardens Conflict resilience = engagement / business case The ecosystems are complex and subtle People are an important corporate asset ● ● We don’t fully understand them In many organisations – the ONLY asset ● − More engaged people:* ● Changing parts to affect the whole can have unexpected ● More productive consequences − Top 1/3 produce 2 x bottom 2/3 ● − The new equilibrium More engaged workforces:* ● Higher quality product − Greater customer satisfaction − Lower turnover − Lower absenteeism − Fewer accidents and safety incidents − Lower rates of work-related mental illness + recover faster − *MacLeod, D. & Clarke, N. (2009). Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement, (UK) Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Work-related mental illness stats – AUSTRALIA Work-related mental illness stats – UK Safework Australia 2015: UK HSE statistics work related stress, depression and anxiety: ● ● 6% of all workers’ compensation claims 2016/17 FY − − Average cost/claim $23,600 Total cases – 526,000 − − Average time off work 14.8 weeks 40% of all work-related ill health cases and 49% of all days lost (not just w/comp − − 90% caused by mental stress (not secondary to a physical injury) claims) − Most at risk industries (claims/1000 workers) – Total working days lost – 12.5 million − − Defence, police, fire fighters Average average days lost per case – 23.8 − ● Automobile, bus and rail drivers Most at risk industries: − ● Health, welfare and paramedics Education ● ● Teachers Human health ● ● Social care work activities ● Public administration ● Defence ● 3

28/11/2017 Causes of mental illness claims – Australia Trends and associations What is engagement? Work-related mental illness claims are increasing Many definitions: ● ● Particularly those caused by: How individual employees view their world ● − Doing helpful things not in a job description − Work pressure − Being motivated and committed − Harassment / bullying − Flourishing − ● More engaged workers have: Like the beauty of a garden or LOVE: − Lower rates of mental illness claims ● − We can’t define quantify it − Shorter duration claims − We know when we feel it There are indicators… ● Engagement barometer Indicators of engagement decreasing in most countries, including: ● Australia − UK − USA − Greatest drop in most highly achieving employees ● Analysis based on: ● Productivity − Turnover − Absenteeism − Accidents and safety incidents − Rates of work-related mental illness − 4

28/11/2017 What do engaged workplaces look like? Individual workers Let’s look at: Competent ● ● Individual workers Have the necessary skills / using those skills − − Coworkers / colleagues Sense of purpose − ● Managers − Why their work counts / why the enterprise counts − Leaders − Penn. U. study ● Autonomous ● Greater responsibility, more proactive − Resilient ● Able to adapt to changes − See challenges rather than “problems” ● Solution focused ● Optimistic ● Not completely inherent – heavily influenced by environment / situation − Pessimistic / neutral / optimistic essay study ● Coworkers / colleagues Managers Workplace friendship correlates with engagement Competent ● ● Collegiate environment Build trust ● ● Friendly Honest – tell the truth and keep their promises − − Social Proactively share information people need to do their jobs well and minimise − − Respectful secrets − Feels positive Right level of intimacy (not too distant, not too familiar) − ● Actively manage performance Influences: ● ● Coach rather than direct − Environment − Clear about expectations and goals – praise good work Open plan ● ● Frequent conversations / not 6 monthly performance reviews Aesthetically pleasing ● ● Solution focused Welcoming amenities areas ● ● Encourage individual responsibility – allow innovation / don’t micromanage Leaders and managers taking genuine interest in people’s lives − ● Fair − Don’t overload the highest performers ● Manage under performers ● Leaders Common mistakes Competent Surveys and data collection ● ● Authentic – they are themselves You don’t fatten a goose by weighing it − ● Survey fatigue Corporate story − ● Isolated gestures and tokenism Why the organisation exists ● − Movie tickets, health checks How is adds value to society / community / people’s lives − − Short-term benefits The direction and large corporate goals − ● Paternalism How it will happen ● − Entrenches dependence − What is will look like − Leaving it to HR Manage their own team as a manager ● ● 5

28/11/2017 Conflict-prone personalities Common traits: 1) Preoccupied with blaming others 2) Avoid responsibility for their actions 3) Rigid and uncompromising 4) Unable to accept or heal from a loss 5) Negative emotions dominate thinking 6) Unable to self-reflect 7) Low levels of empathy Prevalence: Around 15% and rising (western urban populations) Managing CPPs Individual workers Be systematic: Competent ● ● The individual Have the necessary skills − − Coworkers Use those skills − − Managers Sense of purpose − ● Leaders − Why their work counts / why the enterprise counts − Other than exceptional cases, most problems arise from Autonomous ● ● organisational issues Take responsibility, more proactive − CPPs can be effective employees – in the right environment Resilient ● ● Adapt to changes − See challenges rather than “problems” – solution focused − Optimistic ● If “NO” – can it be changed? Yes ? → try / No → time for a change − Coworkers Managers Workplace friendship correlates with engagement Build trust ● ● Collegiate environment Honest – tell the truth and keep their promises − ● Proactively share information people need to do their jobs well and minimise Friendly − − secrets Respectful − Right level of intimacy (not too distant, not too familiar) Feels positive − ● Actively manage performance Influences: ● ● Coach rather than direct − Environment − Clear about expectations and goals – praise good work ● Open plan ● Frequent conversations ● Aesthetically pleasing ● Solution focused Welcoming amenities areas ● ● Encourage individual responsibility – allow innovation / don’t micromanage ● Fair − Don’t overload the highest performers ● Manage under performers ● 6

28/11/2017 Leaders Important role for HR in this Competent Focus resources on the positive – create change ● ● Authentic Avoid unnecessary measurement and surveys ● ● Your can weigh a goose, how do you measure the beauty of a garden? Communicated the vision − ● How does the organisation / work space / team feel? Manage their own team of managers − ● When problems arise, focus on systems as well as the individual Support managers dealing with difficult people ● − Remember the healthy garden: Involved enough to know if the manager is part of the problem − ● Purpose − Complex – gestalt − Resistant to pests, weeds and diseases − − Small changes can have unexpected results 7