The third Monday in January is known as ‘Blue Monday,’ or the most depressing day of the year (Dr. Cliff Arnall, 2005). Initially, a marketing ploy to drive business for a travel company, ‘Blue Monday,’ has little to no research proving its legitimacy as being uniquely more depressing than any other day. So, why write […]
Our blog is a place to deepen conversations around current developments in practices, trends, research and the future of managing organizational relationships.
Human Rights Day
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home — so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. […] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall […]
Disrespectful workplaces, is it time to investigate?
Are you working in a workplace that lacks respect? Hopefully, you’ve heard about a “Respectful Workplace” Policy. Every employer in BC was legislated to put a policy in place by WorkSafeBC under the Workers Compensation Act and Regulations. But even with that policy, and even when employees endeavour to live up to the standards and […]
lol? brb? Fyi? Do’s and Don’ts of Emailing Coworkers
With COVID-19 changing how many are now working outside their traditional offices, we rely more and more on technology like online meetings and email to communicate with coworkers. Often, our reliance on these types of tools has highlighted email limitations as a default form of communication. The fact that email is so familiar and easy […]
The Transformative Power of Conflict
In almost every class we teach on Conflict Resolution, we run into many participants who loathe the idea of dealing with interpersonal conflict. Inevitably, the class conversation circles around participants’ fear of conflict, with most disclosing they would rather ignore it, hoping it will just “blow over.” When we ask the class how this strategy […]
5 Tips for Leaders’ Mental Health in 2020
October is Mental Health Month. Social media is full of advice on self-care and how the stress of COVID demands we pay more attention to taking care of ourselves and others. Leaders, in particular, are challenged right now. Sandwiched between supporting extra-vulnerable and less-resilient staff, and organizational pressures to boost productivity from a remote workforce […]
Mental Health, Let’s Talk About It
October 10th marks World Mental Health Day. A day to raise awareness, have meaningful dialogue and increase efforts to support our global mental health. While there is a different theme each year, 2020 seems to have brought much to the surface for many people. As we adjust to an ever-changing environment in a climate fraught […]
Communicating in a Virtual World Part 3: Emails
With the onset of a worldwide pandemic, employees were sent home to work in an attempt to flatten the contagion curve. People have learned to work remotely, utilizing online tools and changing the way they communicate. Person to person contact became a rare occurrence, Zoom replaced meetings, and emails have transformed our workplace communications. Working differently […]
Communicating in a Virtual World Part 2: Social Media
Has social media at work become a medium for communication amongst your colleagues? With the onset of a worldwide pandemic, employees were sent home to work in an attempt to flatten the contagion curve. People started learning how to work remotely, utilizing online tools. Person to person contact became a rare occurrence. Working differently in this “current […]
Communicating in a Virtual World Part 1: Virtual Meetings
With the onset of a worldwide pandemic, employees were sent home to work in an attempt to flatten the contagion curve. People started learning how to work remotely, utilizing online tools. Person to person contact became a rare occurrence. Working differently in this “current normal”, we started to notice challenges in keeping teams together and […]