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Spotlight – Anti-racism for Beginners

Spotlight – Anti-racism for Beginners

There is no room for racism in a civilised society. The recent surge of interest in anti-racism is very much to be welcomed, but we have to guard against oversimplifying some complex and sensitive issues. This book, from the author of Anti-discriminatory Practice and Promoting Equality, provides an important foundation of learning that will be helpful for anyone committed to a genuinely anti-racist approach to practice. Available from https://neilthompson.info/shop/ or Amazon
Dr Neil Thompson
August 2, 2023
Neil Thomspon’s Lessons for Living – Don’t rely on common sense

Neil Thomspon’s Lessons for Living – Don’t rely on common sense

So-called ‘common sense’ is often not common (different people have different ideas about what is common sense) and not always sense (it is often contradictory). What counts as common sense can be important advice and wisdom built up over many years of experience. However, it can also, at times, be based on unquestioned prejudices and taken-for-granted assumptions. But, whether what counts as common sense is sound or not, what resorting to common sense amounts to is relying on preformed ideas instead of using reflective practice to think, plan, analyse and make sense of the situations we are dealing with. Someone saying: ‘It’s common sense’ is often inviting us to accept their perspective uncritically, rather than work out our own view…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 2, 2023
Burned out and stretched too thin: Tips to re-engage your team

Burned out and stretched too thin: Tips to re-engage your team

It seems there are two types of disgruntled people in our current economy: those who don’t have jobs and those who do. Why? Because for each person who has left an organization, the ones left behind are working harder, feeling overworked and underappreciated, and often being underpaid. Almost everyone in the workplace has been “doing more with less” for a long time. Yet productivity has risen 2.3% annually during these tough times, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This increase is due to fewer employees working more hours and taking on bigger workloads. This is good news for CFOs and senior managers, but it comes at a cost. The dark side of productivity improvement is that people are stretched…
Dr Neil Thompson
August 2, 2023
New data from Fawcett shows 95% of local councils are male dominated

New data from Fawcett shows 95% of local councils are male dominated

New analysis from the Fawcett Society and Democracy Club shows just how far we have to go to achieve truly equal gender representation. Currently, fewer than 5% (18 or 382) of local councils have achieved at least parity in gender representation. That means, based on the current rate of change, we won't see 50:50 representation until 2051. Fawcett regularly conducts analysis of women's representation in local authorities in lieu of any official government or political party monitoring. Click here to read more  
Dr Neil Thompson
August 2, 2023
Spotlight – Your Social Work Journey

Spotlight – Your Social Work Journey

Journaling has become a very popular activity for many people in many settings. Much of the reason for its popularity is that it gives helpful opportunities for exploring our thoughts and feelings about important issues that affect us. It serves as a useful sounding board for dealing with issues that can be confusing and disorientating. Beginning a career in social work is, of course, a major undertaking and a significant life-changing step that should not be made unthinkingly or without adequate preparation. It is for this reason that this journal has been developed. Available from https://neilthompson.info/shop/ or Amazon
Dr Neil Thompson
July 18, 2023
Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Think before you write

Neil Thompson’s Lessons for Living – Think before you write

Jobs that involve working with people generally have a written work component to them (report writing and record keeping, for example). This can become a routine part of the job, and so there is a danger that we write without first thinking about what we are writing, why we are writing it and who we are writing it for. The result can be very poor-quality written work, communication breakdowns and misleading records and reports that have the potential to wreak havoc. What we write may continue to be used for many years to come by other people involved in the future, so committing stuff to writing for posterity without giving it any thought is a risky business. So, the idea…
Dr Neil Thompson
July 18, 2023
Effective people managers: Evidence review

Effective people managers: Evidence review

People managers are an indispensable link between an organisation’s top management and its employees. However, their impact is affected by several moderating factors, such as leadership style, management skills and organisational support. This evidence review draws together the best available evidence to explore why people managers are important, what a good people manager looks like, and how to develop effective people managers. As organisations navigate issues such as hybrid working and recruitment it’s important to realise that people managers not only need to manage their teams’ day-to-day tasks and responsibilities, they also need to nurture their people, implement corporate strategies and act as change agents. Click here to read more
Dr Neil Thompson
July 18, 2023
Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace toolkit

Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace toolkit

Our Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace toolkit is a free resource. It will help employers create workplaces where women are safe to report incidents of sexual harassment and support employers to respond appropriately – creating environments where sexual harassment does not happen in the first place. Tackling Sexual Harassment in the Workplace toolkit: Supports employers to change workplace culture, put in place a sexual harassment policy, train employees, make it safe and easy to report and respond appropriately. Is adaptable to suit organisations' needs and allows employers to listen and embed feedback from employees. Provides hard and soft tools to help employers change organisational culture and includes a range of resources, from a template policy, culture survey, internal communications…
Dr Neil Thompson
July 18, 2023