Humansolutions Bulletin - July 17th 2015

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It is often said that trust needs to be earned, and that implies that we start off not trusting people until they reach the point when they have done enough to convince us that they are trustworthy. But is it really that simple? How realistic is it to withhold trust until we feel that the risk of having that trust abused is at a low enough level? Of course, it isn’t realistic at all. To a certain extent social interactions would not be possible if we did not begin with at least a degree of basic trust. Imagine totally mistrusting everyone we encounter unless and until they have done enough to convince us that they can be trusted. That would…

We worry that IM, texting, Facebook are spoiling human intimacy, but Stefana Broadbent's research shows how communication tech is capable of cultivating deeper relationships, bringing love across barriers like distance and workplace rules. https://www.ted.com/talks/stefana_broadbent_how_the_internet_enables_intimacy  

In setting out its six top tips for managing mental health in the workplace, Acas point out that mental health issues not only affect people's personal lives, wellbeing and morale at home, but can also impact on their performance at work and be costly for businesses. Approaching a member of staff about their mental health can be very challenging for a manager or a work colleague. https://www.thehrdirector.com/legal_updates/legal-updates-2015/acas-publishes-top-tips-online-advice-on-managing-mental-health-in-the-workplace/

The Netherlands could become the first country to pave its streets with plastic bottles after Rotterdam city council said it was considering piloting a new type of road surface touted by its creators as a greener alternative to asphalt. The construction firm Volker Wessels unveiled plans on Friday for a surface made entirely from recycled plastic, which it said required less maintenance than asphalt and could withstand greater extremes of temperature– between -40C and 80C. Roads could be laid in a matter of weeks rather than months and last about three times as long, it claimed. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/10/rotterdam-plastic-roads-trial-netherlands

The Scottish National Party have hit out at the UK Government ... accusing them of just paying "lip service" to the issue of gender equality. This comes as figures, that whilst publicly available have only now been examined by the SNP, reveal that women make up just a third, or 68 out of 200, of the members of the UK Government's departmental boards, which are responsible for providing "strategic leadership" for each government department. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/accusations-of-stark-inequalities-in-heart-of-whitehall-as-gender-imbalance-on-governmental-boards-revealed-10383386.html