Health at work is often framed in physical terms. We measure sickness absence, track injuries, and promote exercise, nutrition, and sleep. These are essential, they focus rightly on the individual, but they miss out the many other forces that exist in all workplaces. The reality is they miss something quieter and more powerful: the social … Continue reading Active Bystandership: The Hidden Health Resource Inside Every Workplace
Care Is a Verb: What the Epstein Story Teaches Us About Passive Bystanders
I wrote this blog after listening to the powerful song ‘Mercy’ by the Dave Matthews Band. The song is timeless and beneath the melody and verses is a simple, unsettling truth: you do not wait for the world to become kinder, you decide to make it kinder. Systems and cultures change when enough individuals refuse … Continue reading Care Is a Verb: What the Epstein Story Teaches Us About Passive Bystanders
You want to make reporting harm normal. Introduce a culture of active bystandership.
This piece highlights that human silence isn’t inevitable. It suggests that a culture of active bystandership leads to increases in both early informal action and in the formal reporting of harm to line managers and HR departments. The piece makes use of social science dating back to 1961 to support it’s conclusion. In my work … Continue reading You want to make reporting harm normal. Introduce a culture of active bystandership.
The Bigger Picture
Is behaviour the problem or the symptom? In this piece I urge senior leaders and indeed society to stop seeing the bad behaviour as the problem. Service level observations simply lead to service level responses. A deeper and more meaningful dive is needed into the culture and ask (1) Why, despite the many reports into … Continue reading The Bigger Picture
Why getting the terminology matters
The rush by many to use the term ‘Upstander’ is leading to some uncomfortable conversations not taking place. In this piece I aim to persuade you to consider that the term 'upstander' isn’t helpful and that those in workplaces better consider the science as opposed to simply what sounds better. While the intention behind promoting … Continue reading Why getting the terminology matters
