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5 steps to conflict resolution in the workplace

5 steps to conflict resolution in the workplace

Conflict in the workplace is inevitable, or at least, it should be. Managers should begin to worry as soon as they start noticing their workplace is free from conflict. You might be reading this and thinking, “Why should we invite conflict?” I’ll answer that by saying: you need to know the difference between good conflict and bad conflict. If we take a look at the origin of the word conflict, we might begin to get a clearer picture of why it’s necessary in the workplace. Conflict is derived from the Latin words ‘com’- meaning ‘together’ – and ‘fligere’- meaning ‘to strike’. So conflict essentially means ‘to strike together.’ That means when you’re in a meeting with a colleague and you…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 15, 2016
‘Just say death!’ Plays teach healthcare workers about end-of-life care

‘Just say death!’ Plays teach healthcare workers about end-of-life care

Seth Goodburn seemed fit and well until two weeks before he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died just 33 days after diagnosis, spending much of that short time in hospital. In the emotional whirlwind of coping with the poor prognosis his wife, Lesley, felt their hopes for Seth’s end-of-life care were sidelined by medical professionals trying to do their job. “The NHS focuses on the medicine and trying to fix people even when that’s not possible,” she says. “A lot of the conversations and decisions that we might have made were overshadowed by dealing with what was the next medical treatment and intervention.” There is an ongoing conversation in the medical profession about how to care for terminally ill…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 15, 2016
Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Use mind maps

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Use mind maps

There are many occasions when it is useful, if not essential, to have a record of our thoughts and/or the events to which they relate. Some people seem never to make notes; they simply rely on their memory, which, of course, is not a wise strategy, as it involves leaving to chance what is recalled and what is not. Other people, I’m aware, make copious notes, but never refer to them again – they just file them away as if having them somewhere to hand will be of value. Yet others have no filing system, so their chances of finding any notes they may have taken are relatively slim anyway. So, when it comes to making notes, there is no…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 1, 2016
We damage Britain by denying its migrant past

We damage Britain by denying its migrant past

Brexiters spoke of ‘taking our country back’. But that was based on a false notion who we are as a people, and of our history of immigration Why has Britain’s response to the dismantling of the refugee camp in Calais been so lively – or ugly? Because it raises fundamental questions about who we are as a country. Migration is being discussed, but it’s a debate bedevilled by myth. There never was a time when Britain and the British identity was impervious to migration. Migration to Britain didn’t begin when we joined the EU. The more common but equally faulty story that Britain slowly developed organically from Anglo-Saxon roots, until the Windrush arrived from the Caribbean and changed everything, is an…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 1, 2016
Children affected by parental imprisonment

Children affected by parental imprisonment

No official record exists of children of prisoners as neither the courts, governments, nor local services ask routinely about them. They are unlikely to reveal themselves for fear of social stigma and bullying and so remain hidden from local services. Children with a parent in prison are Twice as likely to experience conduct and mental health problems, and less likely to do well at school. Three times more likely to be involved in offending. Sixty five per cent of boys with a convicted father will go on to offend themselves. Although the above figures are for England and Wales the trends are likely to be very similar for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
December 1, 2016
‘The best social work I’ve seen wasn’t about filling out forms’

‘The best social work I’ve seen wasn’t about filling out forms’

When Ruth Ibegbuna looks back at her two years as a foster carer, one social worker’s visit stands out. “I had two young girls living with me, they both loved Disney. The social worker came round, sat down cross-legged on the carpet and had a really deep discussion with the six-year-old about the final sequence in Frozen for about 20 minutes,” she recalls. “She didn’t turn up with an agenda, she didn’t fill out any forms, or talk about LAC reviews. She just talked to the six-year-old about something the girl cared about. I was just watching it, thinking ‘this is brilliant work’. From that point on that girl adored that social worker completely. They had that bond.” ... Click…
Dr Neil Thompson
December 1, 2016
Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Let go, even if you can’t forgive

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Let go, even if you can’t forgive

‘It’s important to forgive and forget’ is a widely used piece of folk wisdom. However, it’s not that simple. For someone to feel under pressure to forgive, they must have been hurt, betrayed or abused in some way. It is therefore questionable how realistic it is to expect someone to be able to find forgiveness in those circumstances. It can be not only unrealistic, but also unfair. To put someone under pressure to forgive when they are wrestling with the pain and insecurity they are experiencing can be seen as unhelpful and even as cruel. When they are already feeling ‘wronged’, they can then be made to feel that they are ‘in the wrong’ for continuing to hold feelings of…
Dr Neil Thompson
November 18, 2016