Charlotte and Rob presenting
Rob and I had the privilege of presenting to a full room at the Health and Wellbeing at Work event, as part of their fantastic programme to provide knowledge, insights and solutions to improve workplace health and wellbeing.
I started the talk with a personal story.
Where it all began
Early in 2021 I began experiencing pain in my hands, wrists and arms, and was later diagnosed with multiple forms of tendonitis. The simplest of life's tasks became painful and often impossible.
Work was obviously a HUGE challenge (we'll come onto that).
As months passed, the pain spread. My inner psychologist who needs to make sense of things was really struggling. I could not understand what was happening or how this had happened. It was so unpredictable, I’d wake up each day not knowing what I’d get.
Each time I tried something new and it didn't work, I lost hope. My life was one huge adjustment, but I was running out of options. I genuinely wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to work again.
Luckily for me I was able to make significant adjustments to my work, and access the education and support I needed to recover. I’m now 2 years pain-free!
What this means for work
Now that I'm in the incredibly privileged position to look back, there's some key takeaways for me:
The world is SO inaccessible for so many people, and we need to do better (yes, I understood this in principle but appreciated it differently through lived experience)
A lot of people are carrying their own stories but aren’t getting the support they need
Ultimately the adjustments I made were essential. But they were reactionary. There's adjustments I wish I'd made much sooner
We should be having conversations about positive adjustments much earlier than when a problem occurs
When we should be having personalisation conversations vs when we typically do
Limitations of reasonable adjustments
Clearly I’m not advocating for the abolishment of reasonable adjustments. They will have undoubtedly served as lifelines, and provided an essential route for people to get the support they need.
However I don't think they go far enough.
Shouldn't we be striving for a more proactive and empowering approach?
A workplace where everyone is encouraged and empowered to personalise their work from day one?
Where conversations about crafting work are frequent and normalised?
Where you work in partnership with your employer to find ways to make work better for you, without unnecessary barriers?
I think we can do better.
What we can do in practice
It starts with fostering a culture of safety, communication and experimentation. It’s about taking opportunities from day 1 to shape work around a person rather than trying to shape a person around work.
At Tailored Thinking, we've been exploring the transformative power of job crafting.
Job crafting is about tailoring your work to fit you better, like adjusting a semi-tailored suit to make it a perfect fit.
It's not about ripping up the entire outfit but making nuanced changes that enhance your experience of work. Some people’s jackets will require more positive adjustments than others.
If you’re interested in exploring this we’d recommend the following frameworks:
1. Use the 5 types of job crafting to support conversations about positive adjustments
The 5 types of job crafting
Task, skill, purpose, relationship, wellbeing
For example:
Task - which tasks are challenging and why?
Relationship - who could help and support you?
Skill - are there skills you would like to develop, or for your colleagues to learn?
Purpose - will the adjustments make a difference to how connected you feel to the purpose of your role?
Wellbeing - are there ways we could make your role healthier from a mental and physical perspective?
2. Consider how you could positively adjust your work
The 6 hows of job crafting
What, when, why, where, well, who
In my example:
What: note-taking became impossible so I stopped doing it. I realised it often added no value but was a habit I’d developed. We recorded meetings and used transcription software where notes were useful.
When: I experimented a lot to find a work schedule that helped. I settled on a Wednesday off work to break up the week, which I still do now.
Why: I asked myself what the purpose was of everything I did, and changed anything that I couldn't justify
Well: regular communication with my colleagues about what was working / not working was vital
A lot of these changes have served me well in the future too.
What next
Ultimately my journey through job crafting taught me that the adjustments we make today can lead to surprising positive outcomes tomorrow. It's about anticipating needs rather than simply reacting to them.
To conclude, I'll invite you to consider your own experiences with workplace accommodations. What has helped you?
