"Work-life balance makes me think that i don't have a life."
- james, from mckinsey
As part of the workshop, I worked with analysts and marketing managers to gain a wider picture of how health is perceived outside the world of health professionals. What really stood out from the health mapping exercise [participants were asked to write or draw all the aspects of health that meant something to them], was the idea of pursuing professional relations between colleagues. Most often, employees get to know each other through team projects, yet do not develop any relationship with those outside their immediate team. The participants of the workshop shed light on the importance of pursuing colleague relations across departments in the working environment in order to develop a healthy state of mind as part of the company/organisation.
A number of Profession Confessions were found in the box, and the most prominent concern among the employed is the stress around 'long hours' and the struggle to establish good relationship with their boss. Another area that has come up in conversation is the progress of career development. We often find that progress means 'moving up' or moving onto more managerial roles. However, depending on the field, it seems like people enjoy various aspects of a profession and would rather be challenged in that particular area than to grow into management roles over time. For example, a designer who lives and breathes visual design would rather progress into more complex or varied visual design work, than to move into managing a team of visual designers. But let's say the visual designer would like to manage visual designers in his/her next role, then there must be some sort of educational induction into management to facilitate the career progression.
PROJECT OUTCOME: KOVY
This project has evolved and has focused on the professional career of junior doctors. After months of research and collaboration with a select group of Darzi Fellows at St. Mary's hospital in London, I have put together a service that helps doctors speak up about their challenging moments in a safe and constructive environment. Please visit the project site for more information around the service proposition.
