Why Remote Work Shouldn't Be The New Normal

When do you ask R U OK? Can you ask any time? What if they are OK? Will they be upset? How do I know someone needs help? This newsletter is a little less fun than others; it talks about depression, anxiety, stress and the consequences, including suicide. I can be an uncomfortable and unpleasant topic, but it is essential to talk about, especially in the situation we currently find ourselves. My hope is that, by reading this email, some of you might be able to help a colleague who might otherwise be suffering in silence. If you do, please let me know, we all need good news stories right now. Additionally, I'm not a medical professional, and so if any of the below resonates with you, either for yourself or someone you know, then reach out and talk, there are some links and phone numbers at the bottom of the mail. Although, if you want to reach out to me, I'm more than happy to talk. 👍 If you, or someone you know needs help Here are some numbers and addresses: UK Samaritans: 116 123 Mind https://www.mind.org.uk/ for help with depression. Anxiety UK: 03444 775 774 (Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 5.30pm) www.anxietyuk.org.uk Men's Health Forum www.menshealthforum.org.uk Sane www.sane.org.uk/support US Samaritans: 1 (800) 273-8255 (TALK). https://www.mentalhealth.gov/ Crisis Text Line: Text SIGNS to 741741 for 24/7, anonymous, free crisis counseling Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255 Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline (1-800-662-HELP (4357) Australia Samaritans: 135 247 Head to Health https://headtohealth.gov.au/ Beyond Blue 1300 22 46 36 http://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support Black Dog Institute: http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/resources-support/ Lifeline: Phone: 13 11 14 or Text: 0477 13 11 14 6pm - midnight AEST http://www.mensline.org.au/Home.html

The idea of off-boarding (or, #alighting) isn't particularly new: negotiate an exit, communicate the exit, cancel user accounts, return hardware etc. I don't believe that there is as much focus on offboarding as there is around onboarding and this, frankly, is a serious problem.

🍾 Bottomless Prosecco! 🍨 Boundless Ice Cream! 🥗 All-You-Can-Eat Buffet! 🏖  Unlimited Paid Time Off! One of those things strikes fear into people professionals and business owners alike (well, maybe two, depends on your policy on alcohol with lunch 🍷). But, is an unlimited vacation policy really something to be afraid of? After all, some of the biggest organisations in the world ha

Knowledge management is a field that most of us take for granted. Any organisation will generate and store massive quantities of knowledge during a long enough period—knowledge like payroll to lessons learned, project outcomes to processes. Every bit of knowledge that your organisation needs to function as it currently does has to be stored somewhere and accessible by the right people. It's that last part that causes many organisations to suffer unnecessarily.

Hiring is hard at the best of times. There are many ways to mess it up and make a mistake that you or your new hire may regret. You've got to decide which person from the list of candidates you're talking to is someone you want to work with for the next few months or even years. Doing that in the space of a few hours is difficult. Hiring now, during a pandemic, is even harder. There are some constraints you just can't get around: How do you hire people when you're not sure if you're ever going to be allowed back in the office? What kind of new skills and experience might your new hires need? How do you onboard people when you can't actually be with them and how can you integrate them into your culture?

The New Normal - it's a horrible term. It feels like the current situation we find ourselves in is supposed to be normal. I'm not sure I want to go back to the old standard - there were some pretty crappy things about it - but I also don't want this normal. This edition talks about how we probably shouldn't be trying to create a new normal out of the current situation and offers some points to think about, now we're all mostly remote.