My brother-in-law is a beekeeper (among other things). He spent some time explaining to my daughter the intricacies of the colony; the pivotal roles each bee has and the importance of cultivating optimal conditions to support the bees to flourish. As human beings, we forget we are nature too and that life happens in community. I've read a lot of posts on social media recently about fragmentation in organisational culture - particularly within the health system (though these i

Awareness days, healthy bowls of fruit, occasional yoga mornings and subscribing to apps are all good contributors to support wellbeing at work. This is going to sound crass, but together they don't constitute a wellbeing strategy. They are a collection of independent things, that in and of themselves have value & restorative benefits - but how deep do they go? Maybe the issue is in translations of the word 'wellbeing' - which is loaded with connotations of filtered Instagram

My daughter finishes primary school in two weeks so I found myself frantically diary planning this morning to accommodate leavers' plays, assemblies and celebratory events, which sit squarely in the working day. I'm self employed and pretty autonomous, and while that offers flexibility to be present for my children where possible, there are internal (and economic) costs in terms of trying to reconcile the irreconcilible demands of being a mum who also works. This is not a new

There are so many layers to workplace cultures that go beyond values on walls. I once heard that true organisational culture exists in the gap between what you preach and what you permit. It's sobering as it exposes all the behaviours and ways of being that are quietly tolerated (by going unchallenged) that undermine the polished versions of culture. Incongruence can be felt, even if it goes unspoken. It became clear to me on Wednesday evening this week that some conversation

Budgets are finite and resourcing wellbeing support in the workplace may well be a conundrum for many HR leaders. Having chatted anecdotally to a range or organisations, from agile start-ups to multinationals, it's a varied picture. Innovative partnerships, in-house champions, training, policies and practical adaptations are part of the mix. Some organisations insist they already have it covered, others are more open to new ways of working and emerging opportunities. While fi

Understanding thoughts were not facts was the gateway. I'd completed cognitive behavioural therapy sessions back in 2011 for postnatal anxiety and a depression that left me teetering on the very margins of my life. It was good to be in a space with someone objective to explore the murky waters of my thought patterns and grasp the fundamentals of challenging the validity of their heavy, critical content. I'm not going to lie, the homework felt a lot for an addled mind. It seem

An invitation to a short course on how to stay anchored in these turbulent times Mostly, it looks like life is 'coming at us' and we need to find the reserves and resilience to deal with the knocks. There's a sense of unease and vigilance that arises from a need to hold adversity at arm's length, to stay on top of shifting emotions, tackle negative thoughts and absorb intense (and sometimes traumatising) headlines that pop up perpetually, though unsolicited, in our lives thro

View from a coffee shop of Market Square, Macclesfield Is 'home' a place? Perhaps a geographical spot with (sometimes unconscious) ancestral ties, an inexplicable but pervasive feeling even or a relationship with self? This question has been stirring in me since I went along to a beautiful and thought provoking talk by coach, Liz Goodchild, at the Wellbeing Space , a sanctuary of calm and creativity nestled in the heart of Macclesfield. We were invited to explore our personal

Culture can feel like a nebulous thing to explore in a workplace context. Often we default to policy folders or bold canvas prints that adorn office walls showcasing visions and values in inspiring typefaces. But what if culture is also the stuff that happens when there's no performative driver? When the optics are not the only reputational contributor? What if culture is everything - way beyond the annual 'away day', armed with post-it notes and good intentions. Culture is a

We have all these grand plans and then nature shows us who's really running the show. A covering of snow and temperatures of -8 this week left me less inclined to navigate the school run by car, so the trusty (and somewhat reluctant) hound has accompanied me on the 2 mile return schlep to drop-off and pick-up these past couple of days. At first I was disgruntled by the whole state of affairs with lots of lofty ideas of contemplation (alongside nice coffee) and planning at my

Wellbeing in the workplace is never far from the headlines and remains a key consideration for employers and HR leads. While more companies are developing wellbeing strategies to support their teams, how invested are leaders in embodying the cultures that align with this - and being truly discerning about the congruence between words and actions? In a McKinsey Health Institute survey* of more than 30,000 employees worldwide, only 57 percent of people reported good holistic h

The self-doubt conundrum in the context of female entrepreneurship There are clusters of themes that come to the fore from chats with women who work for themselves. This is complex terrain, nuanced by tensions between roles, cultural demands and systemic dynamics. What I'm seeing is that it's easy (or the cynic in me says 'convenient' from a societal point of view), to internalise issues as individual problems, rather than consider that they are symptomatic of social, cultura

I am energised by the process of creation. It manifests as a kind of restlessness. The sense of passion and purpose that has fuelled my desire to found initiatives has always been the motivation, though (with hindsight) I see that the arc of growth and sustainability often exposed the less helpful tendencies in my conditioning. While I'm reticent to cavalierly use sweeping gender statements, I do feel there is a sense of inherited, ancestral conditioning that is often carried

If you're a fellow female founder, who has nurtured the kernel of an idea into reality - be it a solo business, non-profit or startup - you will relate to the full spectrum of experience that this elicits. At key junctures in my (albeit) eclectic career, I set up a PR agency division, became a comms consultant, co-founded a mental health charity and co-developed a thriving national partnership alongside some amazing women. Some of it was joyous and fulfilling beyond measure,

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