I recently read (in a conference blurb that I intend on attending) that many people are ‘butchering the understanding of psychological health and safety’, and that one of the key red flags of this butchering is if the person quotes Amy Edmonson (as I do constantly).

‘Resilience isn’t just about learning ways to cope with unfavourable situations, but about identifying ways that will help you move forward so you don’t get ‘stuck’ in places that are detrimental to your overall wellbeing.’

I want 2024 to be a great year! not a good year but a GREAT year. I want to be engaged, compassionate, and of course respectful - to everyone I meet but also to myself.

I feel like this year has been a year of contradictions; it was long but also flew by, crazy busy but with time for a couple of nice holiday breaks, healthy but with some bouts of sickness, full of rewards and full of frustrations.

Awareness trumps ignorance.

Conscious inclusion trumps bias.

I am gobsmacked by defensive, angry people/adults in workplaces who are firmly set on ‘pay-back’ and revenge who could instead attempt to listen with compassion and empathy. 

I very much value listening above talking – Could that be perceived as fence-sitting?

Perhaps a question for some readers is why? Why do I have to change anything? Or, What are the consequences if we don’t comply?

Workplace sexual harassment is prohibited under the Fair Work Act from 6 March 2023, and Safe Work Australia’s Managing psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice (July 2022) expects workplaces to protect their workers mental health. Do you know what this means for your organisation?

We assume that respect and empathy come easily to all of us and all we need is gentle reminders - but how true is that?

Here we are again heading towards the end of another year, my 2021 December blog included a summary of the year’s work so I will get to that, but I also want to mention the (fingers crossed) ramping up of momentum for a Human Rights Act in Tasmania.

Yay, it’s anniversary month for Respect at Work

My neighbour is a primary school teacher, chatting the other day she said that in her class every morning begins with a discussion about respect. How great is that!

You don’t have to be an expert to have a meaningful R U OK? conversation. Ask R U OK? No qualifications needed.

Once you have checked your perspective and gathered your facts, practice self-advocacy, approach the person and speak to them about how their behaviour is making you feel.

Remember that you have the right to be treated with respect and compassion.

Respect is always simply about acknowledging and valuing others with consideration and without judgement.

Who would have thought that I and vocational education would progress so far – ‘What is this internet thing and what’s it got to do with me??’

- Roz 1993 😊

Is gossip like an addiction that some find near impossible to quit?

Our cultural self helps to define our identity.

Who I am is influenced by my upbringing, my family, life experiences, education, relationships, work experiences, trauma, tragedy, successes and failures.

Do women have the same level of psychological safety as men? Always? Frustratingly there are still so many examples of women being treated differently.

If we let bad behaviours ‘fly under the radar’, we become part of the problem.

If we travel though life waiting for others to show respect before we do, all we will end up with is a stand-off.

This has been a busy year for Respect at Work, I delivered 147 training sessions, which equated to 346 training hours, to a total of 2087 participants.

Research by the Black Dog Institute shows that enhanced resilience leads to a “significant improvement in job satisfaction, productivity and retention in the workplace.’

I suggest that instructions about workplace behaviour make it clear that speaking in any way that others may not understand while in their presence can be exclusion and disrespectful.

I want to work in a culture of resilience, but I also want compassion, understanding and check-ins.

Celebrating someone else’s achievement costs nothing and creates heroes in my book.

Mediation provides a genuine opportunity to listen and understand another’s perspective while they listen to understand yours.