Hi Garrett - many thanks for your comment. Some excellent points in there and your experience comes through. RE: your point on business process coming last, I totally agree - we've got a webinar coming up on consumerisation of the employee experience and one point we're tackling is an organisational tendency to focus on the front end to achieve a consumerised experience without focusing on whether the process is fit-for-purpose or needs re-engineering. Link here: https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/1454232/6355B459EBC4DFBDBF26330358B6048A

RE: your point on asking on LinkedIn and Quora, agreed too - in fact, here's a quote from a recent article we posted: "Yes, you’ll receive a random collection of genuine experiences, but also a good deal of unwanted sales contact and, more dangerously, non-contextual views that are ill-explained to you. Your own system selection is contextual to your organisation. That is why I’m loathe to make suggestions that refer to specific product choices. Your yellow brick road is someone else’s garden path." Link here: https://www.hrzone.com/perform/business/system-selection-how-to-make-the...

Also, I wonder if you'd be interested in writing a piece on HRZone based on your experience? I could pick out a few threads from your comment that would make a really good article. My email is editor at hrzone dot com if you're interested, and thanks again for commenting. Jamie

thanks Don, glad you enjoyed it. I agree with your comment - working smarter, not working harder and longer.

Totally agree with you - there's no context to it. This was posted 16 years ago - definitely wouldn't be posted today :)

Hi John
Thank you for commenting and getting in touch. Can I suggest you try the Mind infoline if you are struggling, as they are very good: 0300 123 3393.

Acas also have a good helpline on 0300 123 1100 and they can give you good advice specific to your employment case.

I know the folks at Mind and know they have a really supportive forum at https://www.elefriends.org.uk/ - you could post on there and see if other people have been through what you have and could support you, perhaps in areas you've not thought of?

Thanks again for your comment and hope you are feeling better.

Jamie

Hi there
Thanks for your question. This is an old article so don't think the author will be able to respond. I'm sorry to hear of your troubles. I would very much recommend you actually call Acas on the helpline which is 0300 123 1100. It is available Monday 8am-8pm, Tuesday 8am-6pm, Wednesday to Thursday 8am-8pm and Friday 8am-6pm. They will be able to provide advice more specific to your case.
Hope this helps.
Jamie

That's a great example, Mike. As with all these things, it's the context rather than the 'lesson' that's important. It's like teaching maths at primary school: you make it fun and relevant and hide the work they're doing within the fun.

I think societal views towards work have matured and these changes are generalised to a particular age-group - that's the problem. I remember speaking to a 'baby boomer' who said that when she was a new parent she'd have loved a more welcoming, family-friendly employer, with the ability to work flexibly and have a compressed work week, but that just wasn't 'what happened.' Now it is happening, and milennials are taking advantage because hey are at the life stage of having children and becoming a larger and larger part of the workforce. So yes they do want flexible working. Do they expect it uniquely? Of course not. Everyone wants flexibility. We are all human.

Interesting piece - thanks for posting. The scale and complexity of the NHS - and the way it is entwined with everyone as individuals - means that organisations should always keep an eye out for changes in how healthcare is delivered.

thanks for pointing this out Lynda - it's available here: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8c52aff6-bdda-11e5-9fdb-87b8d15baec2.html#axzz...

Good piece.

Amended!