Liberate the workplace

Does this work?

What are we working towards?

What is working anyway?

In today’s day and age when drastic action, change and community is needed, how can we make our places of work a place of pleasure, somewhere individuals thrive and feel seen? 

How can we create a culture in our places of work that encourage passion, presence and purpose?  

How do we create a culture where work has a person centred approach and is working towards a world that works for all.

With the rise of mental illness, making our places of work a place of hope and action gives individuals a sense of purpose which is crucial to mental health. Removing pressure ensures people are able to make decisions better and a place of play and pleasure enables ideas and creativity to appear more freely and increases our engagement.

Pan Ini offers bespoke and customised workshops for workplaces which utilise her expertise in creative facilitation, holistic practices, play, culture, community and well being.

The workshops are filled with mindful exercises, playful games, time of reflection and conversation prompts which open up discussion around shared values, communication, passion and purpose.

To book or to find out more email Pan Ini at pan.ini.involves@gmail.com

I have also outlined a basic workshop you and your colleagues can engage with and adapt as necessary based around the question “What is working?” below.

Workshop:

Materials: Large paper/whiteboard, pens, refreshments, watch/clock to manage time.

Start in a circle, ensure everyone is present - have phones turned on silent/off, have been to the toilet and have what they need before beginning. Try to use an open, calm, neutral space somewhere where you are unlikely to get interrupted.

Set ground rules, put in place times for toilet breaks (participants should still be free to go whenever needed however) etc.

Check in; go round the circle and offer a moment they felt grateful this week or something they are grateful for.

Outline what will be covered in the session, “today we will be looking at”:

  • Our fears in society and in the workplace

  • Our hopes and passions

  • Failure, risk taking and how to make it safe

Begin with a game.

There are lots of games online you can find, it will depend on the space and the abilities in your team as to what game you choose. Make sure it is inclusive.

A simple hilarious game is “TEETH” which you can find the instructions to here: https://youthgroupgames.com.au/games/teeth/#:~:text=If%20you%20do%20happen%20to,lost%20when%20teeth%20are%20shown.

Culture and fears:

  • Split off into smaller groups of threes or fours, write down fears you have about the future and society.

  • Secondly, on another piece of paper, outline the world you would like to see. (have these timed for time management purposes).

  • When finished, share back to the whole group. This exercise should highlight commonalities within the group, similar dreams, hopes and desires as well as fears.

  • Highlight the most frequently mentioned issues/hopes.

  • In new groups, discuss which of the hopes or fears you as a workforce are able to tackle or work on? How can you put action towards this issue within the workplace?

Examples might be, bettering your recycling schemes, having a “pay it forward” option, having a new positive quote on display each day etc.

Share back.

*break*

Come back to the circle.

Have someone lead a breathing meditation or mindfulness exercise.

Part two; Fear of failure, risk taking in the workplace.

  • Individually, write down what you like about the workplace and what you would like to individually work towards in the future - this could be a skill or future enterprise/ambition you have.

  • Share this with the person next to you, in twos.

  • Back in the group. Although we are working collectively towards an aim in the workplace, we all have individual passions which should be encouraged and worked on as well.

  • What are the fears in the workplace? This open discussion doesn't need to be written down.

  • What lies between you and your dream or you and you sharing an idea?

  • How can we make risk taking easier and safer? - brainstorm. Key things are, having the right amount of time to be heard, not being interrupted, having what you aim on saying written down in bullet points so nothing is forgotten and thinking beforehand about how your idea can practically be implemented.

End with planning something exciting for the team to do soon, something to look forward to and assign people who have shared a passion, a task that aligns with that.

Encourage everyone to thank everyone for their contribution.

End.

To expand this workshop into exploring better practices for communication, I would recommend a “restorative practice” online course - available on Udemy and other sources which will provide you with the resources into learning how to effectively communicate within the workplace.