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Defeating rumination – How to reduce stress and build resilience

Defeating rumination – How to reduce stress and build resilience

While recognizing stress as a major problem in the workplace, many people assume that there is no escape from such stress. The demands of most jobs are going to create stress — such is the nature of work. This assumption is wrong, however, and the core reason is the failure to distinguish between ‘pressure’ and ‘stress’. Pressure results from external events, such as, for example, a failed project or a looming deadline. Pressure is, indeed, inevitable, and there is little we can do about it. Stress, in contrast, emerges not from an event — past or future — but from our reaction to the event. University of York professor Derek Roger has been researching stress for 30 years — 15 of…
Dr Neil Thompson
February 9, 2017
Equality matters to human rights: We need a socio-economic duty.

Equality matters to human rights: We need a socio-economic duty.

The UK is one of the most unequal societies in Europe. Even though decreasing unemployment and low inflation have reduced income inequality for now, unfair taxes, stagnant incomes and unaffordable housing risk enlarging the wealth gap. It is not only about raw data. Inequality is widely perceived as a growing problem in society. According to the 2016 British Social Survey, more than 76% of the people believe there is a wide divide between social classes. Abundant empirical research shows how bad inequality can be for general economic stability, criminality, individual self-esteem, mental health, sense of trust and civic participation. Many of these issues are closely connected to human rights. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
February 9, 2017
Seth Godin’s blog – Missed it by that much

Seth Godin’s blog – Missed it by that much

I got to the gate just as they closed the door and the plane began to back away. It was thirty years ago, but I still remember how it felt. I think we’re hard-wired to fear these painful moments of missing out. Deadlines don’t cause death if missed, but sometimes we persuade ourselves that it’s almost as bad. As a result, marketers and others that want us to take action invent cliffs, slamming doors and loud buzzers. We put a rope at door, a timer on the clock and focus on scarcity and the fear of missing out. And as a result, consumers and students and co-workers wait for the signals, prioritizing their lives around the next urgency. When everything is…
Dr Neil Thompson
February 9, 2017
Who are Learning Disability Voices?

Who are Learning Disability Voices?

Learning Disability Voices comprises charities, not-for-profit and independent sector companies who provide learning disability services in the UK, including the likes of Voyage Care, United Response, Lifeways, The Wilf Ward Family Trust, Hft and Mencap - together representing 20% of the total sector provision. The learning disability sector cares for the UK’s most vulnerable people, who often require 24-hour support delivered by one or more carers to ensure that their needs are met. For too long now our sector has had to cope with increasingly damaging local government cuts and has been forced to drive operational efficiencies to keep fees static. However, as we are paid for the hours of care we deliver, we cannot reduce frontline staffing to cut…
Dr Neil Thompson
February 9, 2017
Coping with Cancer ebook

Coping with Cancer ebook

The Cancer Challenge: Coping with Cancer When Someone You Love is Diagnosed by Hannah Mann Learning that someone you love has cancer can be a devastating experience. It can generate a wide range of emotions and leave you quite unsure about what to do. You will want to be supportive, of course. But what will help? What are the things you shouldn’t do in case they are perceived as unhelpful or inappropriate? This practical guide helps you to think through the issues involved.  Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
January 26, 2017
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Both and, not either or

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Both and, not either or

Unfortunately, there is very strong tendency for many people to think in black and white terms – a sort of ‘all or nothing’ approach. It is as if there is a strong urge to assign things to one category or another. This is what I call either/or thinking. Others have referred to it as ‘binary’ thought. In reality, life is much more complex than that, and so either/or thinking prevents us from appreciating the subtleties of the situations we find ourselves in. It places a sort of straitjacket on our way of understanding whatever it is we are trying to make sense of. Of course, an important thing to recognise is that thought is so often the basis of action.…
Dr Neil Thompson
January 26, 2017
Walking the tightrope – Savings and debt inequality in Great Britain

Walking the tightrope – Savings and debt inequality in Great Britain

Many households earn too little to pay for basic necessities, and to save for an uncertain future. Over a third of households now owe more in debt that they have saved, and millions more face falling into trouble in the event of a financial shock they cannot avoid. In our new briefing note, Walking the Tightrope - Savings and Debt Inequality in Great Britain, we find that: 6.5 million households are in debt, or face the prospect of falling into debt within a month, should they lose their jobs. Over 40 per cent of non-retired households have too little saved to pay even a month’s worth of household bills. 5.5 million households owe more in debt than they have saved. Many families are also…
Dr Neil Thompson
January 26, 2017
Senior business leaders unequipped to manage and develop people

Senior business leaders unequipped to manage and develop people

Around half of HR professionals believe that senior business leaders don’t have the people management behaviours and skills needed to get the best from their people, according to the latest CIPD HR Outlook survey of HR professionals. Performance management and people management were voted the top leadership behaviours and skills needed by organisations over the next three years. However, out of those who chose performance management, more than half (53%) said senior leaders’ current skills in this area were ineffective. Similarly, 44% of HR professionals felt senior leaders’ people management skills were ineffective. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
January 26, 2017
Valuing staff and providing security: Social enterprises in social care

Valuing staff and providing security: Social enterprises in social care

From a startup tackling isolation among the rural elderly population in Devon, to a veteran organisation working in a number of northern towns and cities, social enterprises are playing a part in meeting the growing need for social care services across the country. In a recent survey, 10% of social enterprises listed social care as their principal activity. But why are they involved, and what are the benefits for staff and service users? Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
January 26, 2017
Stonewall Cymru Workplace Conference 2017

Stonewall Cymru Workplace Conference 2017

Friday 3 February 2017. Join over 200 people from across the public, private and third sectors to learn and share the latest best practice on creating an inclusive workplace for all of your lesbian, gay, bi and trans (LGBT) staff. There is new content including sessions focused on inclusive service delivery, supporting trans staff, building and sustaining ally networks and exploring multiple identities. Return to your organisation with practical ideas to make a lasting impact for all LGBT people. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
January 26, 2017