Daemon Group Blog

Being kind to your colleagues…..

Posted on 04. Jan, 2012 by Croaghie in Employer Branding

Back to work for 2012…..

Today I returned to work for the New Year. And it’s been an interesting day.

I’m not going to pretend that I could hardly wait to get back to the office. In fact, now that summer’s finally arrived in Sydney, I felt more inclined to head straight to Bondi Beach.

However it HAS been interesting. Dare I say it, pleasantly surprising…..

I’ve reflected on my time away from work: the people I caught up with, the fun I had, the activities I enjoyed.

I’ve reviewed last year’s business activity and started the foundations of 2012’s Master Plan.

And I’ve really enjoyed it (no eye rolling please).

But I’m probably one of the few.

I received calls & texts from friends & family over the past week, bemoaning ‘getting back to the grind’ and ‘working for the man’. Culturally in Australia, we can be overly addicted to holidays and down time, yet the stats tell us that stress (and the often resultant depression), increasingly places a major strain on workforce productivity and our health system.

What strikes me as I return to work today is that this week, next week, and right up to Australia Day, many of us returning to work, will do so feeling uninspired. Have a quick read of this great article about being uninspired at work…

As your business kicks off for 2012, be mindful that this is a flight risk period. Some talent will come back to work, looking for a ‘better’ alternative.

So at this critical time, think inclusion: in planning, in communications, in sharing ideas, in sharing the ‘fun’ part of the workload.

Getting back into the swing of things in a New Year can be a challenge for anyone…. including ‘the man’!

Tags: 2012, employee engagement, Inclusion, Productivity