IT'S JUST ANOTHER DAY...

I shared a post on LinkedIn earlier today that I am sure annoyed many people, especially those in corporate comms, marketing, and DEI teams. That wasn’t my intention. My intent was to highlight the issues we have with virtue signalling and an almost pathological need to be associated with a particular day or event.

Yesterday was #worldmentalhealthday2024 it was also #worldsightday and happened to fall in the middle of #ADHDawarenessmonth #blackhistorymonth (in the UK, in the USA it's February) #worldspaceweek #dyslexiaawarenessweek and be four days after #worldhabitatday and a week today we celebrate(?) #worldmenopauseday. Today happens to be the #internationaldayofthegirlchild and I’ve just learnt it’s #internationalcomingoutday and of course on a very different, religious level it’s the first day of #YomKippur

Next week we have #internationaldayfordisasterriskreduction #worldfoodday #internationaldayofruralwomen #internationaldayfortheeradicationofpoverty #antislaveryday and the month ends with #worldcitiesday and of course #halloween

That;’s a lot of days, today is also the 11th October, it’s also the birthday of Cardi B. (rapper), Michelle Wie (golfer), Steve Young (NFL). Joan Cusack (actor), Haitham bin Tariq (Sultan of Oman), Bobby Charlton (footballer). As well as that it’s also the anniversary of the launch of US sitcom ‘30 Rock’, of Jimmy Carter being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, of Polaroid filing for bankruptcy, of the 100th launch of the Space Shuttle, and of the inauguration of Australia’s oldest university, the University of Sydney.

Everyday is a special day for someone or something. I am not against the idea of the UN recognition of issues that we need to be aware of. Almost the opposite in fact, it’s critical that we remain aware and of course develop action to address many issues of inequality across our world. However many large companies seem to have hijacked a ‘day’ ‘week’ ‘month’ as an opportunity for virtue signalling. Is it better to do or say? We know there are so many things that companies have a responsibility to deliver on but sadly many are so focused on quarterly results that they omit the most important part of a company which is the people that make the company. In fact company literally means a collection of people.

The mental and physical wellbeing of people isn’t something that should be referenced once a year on World Mental Health Day or World Disability Day. I’d plead with companies across all sectors to truly support their colleagues and peers every day. To do this you must know your team, you must know your employees. What makes them happy, what makes them feel empowered to deliver the best they can every single day. People want to enjoy what they do, they want to give as much as they are able, people don’t want to do bad work, they don’t want to do poorly, they don’t want to make mistakes.

People want to work for companies that care. For companies that actually do something about the issues at hand. It's not enough to put up a post saying how important mental health is to your company. It should go without saying, why on earth wouldn't it be important? You're surely not going to take the mental well being of your colleagues and peers for granted are you? The mental health of many is in a poorer state than it has been for many decades.

Actions speak louder than words, mandating return to office is a statement against caring for the mental health of your employees, making individuals pick up the work of people that have been retrenched or made redundant is a statement against your employees mental health, having a 'just get it done' approach to work is a statement against the mental health of your employees. We need to train, to educate, to support people across every aspect of their role whilst having a keen understanding of who each person actually is.

Being made more aware of a particular issue is very important and the work the UN does in promoting global days is to be respected. It should be viewed as a call to action, not a call to say 'look at me, look at me' - each day should be about us all making ourselves more aware of the cause/issue/celebration in question. Each day should empower us to go to our employers and say 'but what are you actually doing...no, no, not what are you saying, what are you doing and how can we do more.'

I have a lot of time for the words of Morgan Freeman on the topic of relegating, in this particular article, Black History to a single month. “You are going to give me the shortest month in a year? And you are going to celebrate ‘my’ history?! This whole idea makes my teeth itch. It’s not right.”

Surely as a society we’re more than a collection of days. Do we truly believe that people in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, Lebanon, Yemen, Western Sahara, care that next week is #worldfoodday, that yesterday was #worldmentalhealthday? What they want is food, they can’t eat words and corporate virtue, they want support for their mental and physical wellbeing . Let’s not get caught up in trying to outdo one another in being the first to post about a ‘day’ ‘week’ ‘month’ let’s act, let’s act out of empathy and understanding. Do what needs to be done.

I’ve been lucky enough to learn something from everywhere I have worked. I’ve had great managers and I’ve had terrible, bullying, weak managers. One of the most powerful lessons I’ve had is to remember to ask people to show you when they tell you something. Don’t just tell me you’ve done something, you care about something, show me what you’ve done, show me how you’ve cared for me.

Show, don’t tell. Act, don’t signal.