Do your employees feel safe to speak up, even when what they have to say goes against the grain? 

Encouraging your employees to make themselves heard and speak up is one thing. But are they saying what they think you want to hear? Making individuals feel secure enough to voice their true opinions is much more difficult, and it’s a major component of successful inclusive leadership. More than that, it’s necessary to create a culture where employees feel empowered  to innovate and problem-solve, without the inhibiting fear of failure. 

When your teams feel psychologically safe, you can expect to see increased motivation in dealing with problems, higher levels of engagement, better performance, and more learning and development opportunities. It allows for risk-taking, speaking your mind, creativity, and speaking out without fear of punishment - all the behaviours that lead to market breakthroughs.

Barbara Fredrickson at the University of North Carolina has...

During Men's Health Week (10 – 16 June in the UK), we read many of the excellent articles and personal stories shared by men. In our work at Thriving Talent, we hear daily how stress manifests itself when working fathers are trying to juggle personal and professional lives.

Working fathers often cite feelings of overwhelm, guilt, failure at work and at home and working 4 shifts: shift 1 being the morning pre-creche/school, shift 2 being at the office, shift 3 being back at home hopefully in time for children’s bedtime and shift 4 logging back on. None of which tends to leave space for taking care of oneself. Every time we run “New Fathers” workshops, men exchange on the challenges they face and how sports/friends/health/fun becomes a distant memory. As we remind them, if they don’t take care of themselves and have a ‘full battery’, they are unlikely to be the father/partner/professional they want to be.

Organisations are starting to...

This return to work case study is a great example of how crucial flexibility is for retaining new mothers in the workplace. Here we share the story of Louise, an advanced nurse practitioner in a hospital emergency department and mother to a baby boy.

When Louise became pregnant she knew that after having her baby, she would eventually want to return to work in the career she had worked hard over many years to build as an advanced nurse practitioner in a hospital emergency department.

Her story is neither an outright success nor failure on the part of her employer, but there are many parts to it that we can learn from. Ultimately, it shows how vital flexible working is for retaining new mothers in the workplace. Rather than share the interview in full, we have highlighted some of the key themes and outlined key learnings from the perspective of both the new mother and the employer:

The Paperwork

“When I told my employers I was pregnant, they were very helpful and seemed...

When a driven, ambitious lawyer announces that she is having a baby, her employer has some key decisions to make to ensure a smooth departure and return. In this case, one employer’s loss was another’s gain…  

Although happy to share her story, this lawyer wanted to remain anonymous so we’ll call her Julia. When Julia announced she was pregnant at her law firm, all was well. She was treated fairly, adjustments were made, and it was easy for her to attend all the necessary antenatal appointments during her working hours without any resentment or sideways glances.

The problems came during the handling of her workload. After years with the firm building up a client base on full time hours, Julia was surprised to learn that her employer intended for her line manager to take on all the extra work alone while she was away. This caused a great deal of stress for everyone involved and made the time leading up to her maternity leave very tense.

Shortly after...

What happens when new mothers are not supported fully  upon returning from maternity leave?

It’s not just the mother who suffers - the business squashes the career ambitions of a dedicated employee within the company and risks losing a skilled worker. This case study demonstrates a very common trend amongst employers and new working mothers.

Jennifer’s first month back at work following maternity leave was of course challenging as she was learning how to balance work and family commitments. In some ways, her employer helped and in others, she was very much let down. In her view, the poor treatment she received from her employer were bumps in the road and just what she had come to expect as a new mother. So she shrugged her shoulders and accepted it.

The negative actions of her employer caused her to be demoted, earn less money, and stop breastfeeding earlier than she wanted to. Just think about the implications of all of that for a moment...

Yet, Jennifer remains,...

How can you achieve your career goals and ambitions, whilst working reduced hours? This question is not only relevant to working parents but to anyone who wishes to pursue their professional aspirations and personal goals.

In part one of this three part series, we touched upon some of the things that may be holding you back from pursuing your career once you go part time and attempted to address these by highlighting key factors that commonly appear in success stories of the many clients we have worked with in the past.

However one of the biggest reasons that many individuals shy away from requesting part time or reduced hours is the lack of role models and real life examples that prove that it is possible to advance in your career.

In this article, we will focus on two specific individuals and tell their stories so that you can view their journeys from going part time to achieving great things.

Laura, Hilti

Laura started her career at Hilti ‘on the ground’ in a...

As the festive season is soon upon us, I am “walking the talk”. How, you may ask? Well, I am doing what we encourage others to do all the time - I am taking a moment to press “pause”.

When I think about the conversations over this festive, sociable period, family, friends and colleagues often ask how the year has been and they are curious to know what your New Year’s Resolutions are for 2019.

Some people reflect on their year with great energy and joy; others will shy away from answering or not want to give it much thought, as sometimes it reminds us of the low points. Some will talk about their 2019 goals with fervor and passion, whilst others say “I do not believe in making resolutions”.

So, where do you start, when thinking about these big questions? For me, I need to break it down and reflect over several days. My approach is to use ‘smaller questions’.

• What lessons did I learn in 2018?

• What am I proud of in 2018?

• What...

Anna is a Teaching Assistant at a Learning Centre in the UK who recently returned from maternity leave and agreed to share her experiences with us.

Upon returning to work, Anna’s employer was flexible to her request for fewer hours and later start times to accommodate nursery drop-offs. But more than that, she was reassured that she would not be penalised for occasionally running late due to her parental responsibilities and told not to worry about it.

It’s brilliant to hear that Anna’s work culture is sensitive to the needs of working parents and has allowed and supported her to continue on her career path as before. Within a few months of returning to work she completed a training course, and she says that it feels like she was never away.

The main challenge for Anna has been the cost of childcare and the realities of separation for extended periods, but over time she has become more comfortable in the knowledge that her son is safe and happy at nursery.

Her...

Parents around the world want to give their children a better life. David Freed and James Millar want their children to grow up in a more equal world, and they’ve written a book calling on fathers, mothers, employers and policymakers to join the cause.

Their new book “Dads Don’t Babysit: Toward Equal Parenting” is a powerful read about parenting and fatherhood. It presents a vision of fully-engaged dads (and moms!) thriving in today’s working world. The key to transforming that vision into a reality? More men need to take shared parental leave.

Parental Leave & the “Family Hat Trick”

The central argument of this book is that shared parental leave gives men time and space to become equal parents. This isn’t opinion; it’s rooted in evidence-based research and complimented by real-life anecdotes, interviews, and the authors’ own personal experience of fatherhood in Britain. Specifically, the book identifies a “the...

By Natalie Boudou

I dropped off my son at University in the UK this weekend and since then I have been experiencing a real sense of loss. Since he received his results in June I have been on an emotional rollercoaster, anticipating his departure and dreading the « goodbye ». And yes, it was I expected. I was a blubbering mess as we drove up to his halls of residence and I cried all the way back home. Now, back in Switzerland, I am relieved to have it behind me. Like most mothers I had been dreading this university drop off from the moment my child was born, and it crept up on me all too soon.

I wanted to write this article for two reasons. Firstly, because I have been able to share my feelings with girlfriends who also have children leaving home. The support they have given me is incredible and, if you are suffering right now, it is important to realise that you are not alone. Secondly, as a resilience specialist, I would like to share some tips and strategies...