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Pub banter and social media posts could be classed as workplace harassment, the UK's equality watchdog has warned. New guidance setting out steps for preventing harassment and victimisation in the workplace has been issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). The advice includes developing effective policies, training and knowing how to deal with complaints. In time, the new guidance will become statutory measures enforceable by law. The EHRC said there was an "overwhelming" need for tougher action on harassment in the workplace. Such harassment can include offensive, humiliating, intimidating, hostile or degrading behaviour relating to race, age, sexual orientation and gender identity, disability or religion. Click here to read more

Facebook page Facebook Social Work Focus group LinkedIn Twitter YouTube channel Neil’s website The humansolutions website Information about Neil’s online learning community, the Avenue Professional Development Programme

This book, by highly respected author, educator and adviser, Neil Thompson, offers a much more grounded approach to the complex issues involved. Part One provides a clear and helpful overview of key issues relating to promoting well-being – our own and other people’s, while Part Two offers 101 practical tips. This book will be ideal for anyone wanting to make a positive difference, whether in the caring professions, in a management or human resources context or just in their own personal lives.This is not a book that gives you instructions. The main aim is to give you food for thought, to support you in thinking through a number or key issues, warning you of pitfalls to avoid and helping you…

I regularly run courses on which, despite having been given handouts with space for notes about each part of the course, a high proportion of the participants will not write down a single word. Perhaps they all have photographic memories or maybe they believe that learning happens by magic – they just have to hear what is being said and don’t need to remember it or apply it in any way; it will just automatically make them better at their jobs without any effort on their part. Similarly, many people have a good idea, don’t write it down and later struggle to remember what their important insight was. I don’t understand why so many people appear to be reluctant to…

Carrie thought she was ready to go back to work four weeks after the death of Siobhán, the daughter she and her husband lost to brain cancer at seven months old. But, in reality, she wasn’t. “I really struggled to cope,” she says. “I was a teacher and there was nowhere to hide: I had to deal with children, parents and colleagues all day, every day. There was no downtime and no office for me to retreat to.” Returning to work just added to her trauma. “I had to put on a false face, which was exhausting. All sorts of things triggered my grief during the day, but I had to bottle everything up,” she says. “I had to contain…

Our latest research on conflict management examines the current state of working relationships in UK organisations. The report draws on the views and experiences of employers and employees, gathered from surveys and focus groups conducted by YouGov. The findings draw attention to the critical issue of bullying and harassment in UK workplaces, and the devastating impact unfair treatment can have on individuals and organisations. Click here to read more

A collection of poems and drawings by parents and children affected by imprisonment in the UK and abroad. The poems and images are all original and from open competitions begun in 2018. They address the thoughts, feelings and beliefs of the authors as they express themselves concerning their emotions and experiences. Over a million children and family members are affected by imprisonment in the UK alone and the poems seek to emphasise the sense of loss, deprivation and isolation involved. They also show resilience—and how enforced separation impacts each and every day of the writer’s life. Click here to read more  

Facebook page Facebook Social Work Focus group LinkedIn Twitter YouTube channel Neil’s website The humansolutions website Information about Neil’s online learning community, the Avenue Professional Development Programme