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Liz Kendall believes that "the problem with young people is too many consider doing a day's work stressful...we can't have that."
Can't we?
We "can't have" an acknowledgement of a reality - that work often is stressful.
The Productive Pessimist is my own business. It's work I've chosen - but trying to get it to a position of productivity, trying to get clients, coming up with content which offers just enough to be interesting, without giving so much that there's no need for anyone to hire us, is incredibly stressful.
Before starting The Productive Pessimist, I was a project manager in healthcare transformation. The stress of that had me at the end of my ability to cope more than once.
Before getting into project management (which, as well as healthcare transformation, included employability support focused on individuals facing systemic barriers, and LGBTQ+ mental health inclusion in the third sector) I worked in marketing for a multinational omnichannel retailer - that was more or less constant stress. My first day, I landed fully in the middle of Black Friday preparations. Black Friday went straight into Christmas, which went straight into January sales, which went straight into tie-ins with half-term kids' clubs, which went straight into tie-ins of sea fishing with holiday options, to cover the coarse fishing close season, then it was promotion of river locations and tackle as the coarse close season ended, which flowed straight into luxury overseas fishing vacation promotions and associated tackle for the summer period...then we were straight into getting the new kit up on the website (autumn was "fairly quiet", so our company had its main new product launches in September), then we were straight into Black Friday prep...and the merry-go-round started again.... Stress barely covered it, but it was still a good time, with a great team.
We absolutely can have people considering a day's work stressful - because that's what it is. That's why we talk about "going to work", rather than "taking a walk in the park."
Can't we?
We "can't have" an acknowledgement of a reality - that work often is stressful.
The Productive Pessimist is my own business. It's work I've chosen - but trying to get it to a position of productivity, trying to get clients, coming up with content which offers just enough to be interesting, without giving so much that there's no need for anyone to hire us, is incredibly stressful.
Before starting The Productive Pessimist, I was a project manager in healthcare transformation. The stress of that had me at the end of my ability to cope more than once.
Before getting into project management (which, as well as healthcare transformation, included employability support focused on individuals facing systemic barriers, and LGBTQ+ mental health inclusion in the third sector) I worked in marketing for a multinational omnichannel retailer - that was more or less constant stress. My first day, I landed fully in the middle of Black Friday preparations. Black Friday went straight into Christmas, which went straight into January sales, which went straight into tie-ins with half-term kids' clubs, which went straight into tie-ins of sea fishing with holiday options, to cover the coarse fishing close season, then it was promotion of river locations and tackle as the coarse close season ended, which flowed straight into luxury overseas fishing vacation promotions and associated tackle for the summer period...then we were straight into getting the new kit up on the website (autumn was "fairly quiet", so our company had its main new product launches in September), then we were straight into Black Friday prep...and the merry-go-round started again.... Stress barely covered it, but it was still a good time, with a great team.
We absolutely can have people considering a day's work stressful - because that's what it is. That's why we talk about "going to work", rather than "taking a walk in the park."
Stress, when it is restricted to specific situations, rather than becoming a constant, can act as fire-and-tune-up for our brains and metabolisms, forcing the body to focus on systems that normally run in the background - which is why stress can cause a sensation of "illness" - we are made aware of processes that our brain typically shields us from conscious awareness of. Stress can serve as a check-in for the body, ensuring that hormonal systems are balanced, that core processes are able to run at maximum capacity effectively, and making us aware of potential issues.
Stress also makes us aware of fault-lines in our interpersonal dynamics. When we're stressed, we find ourselves less tolerant of other peoples' "quirks", less willing to shrug off their behaviour with "well, that's just how they are." This is a painful process to go through, but a necessary one - it allows us to draw (or redraw) boundaries. It makes us aware of what we will and will not tolerate. It reminds us of how we should be treated, and how we want to be treated. It gives us a new perspective.
We can have people considering a day's work stressful - because those people are in touch with reality.
What we can't have is people reaching adulthood having never been taught how to cope with reality.
A resilience course doesn't teach people how to cope with reality.
Emotional intelligence doesn't teach people how to cope with reality.
Six weeks of NHS Wellbeing therapy doesn't teach people how to cope with reality.
Firstly; not everything in "a day's work" that creates stress is "reality." A lot of it is artifice.
The "big personalities" - who should be tamed by effective management, and pulled out of the pool the minute they start creating clashes with other personalities, or dominating other peoples' workplace experience.
Stress also makes us aware of fault-lines in our interpersonal dynamics. When we're stressed, we find ourselves less tolerant of other peoples' "quirks", less willing to shrug off their behaviour with "well, that's just how they are." This is a painful process to go through, but a necessary one - it allows us to draw (or redraw) boundaries. It makes us aware of what we will and will not tolerate. It reminds us of how we should be treated, and how we want to be treated. It gives us a new perspective.
We can have people considering a day's work stressful - because those people are in touch with reality.
What we can't have is people reaching adulthood having never been taught how to cope with reality.
A resilience course doesn't teach people how to cope with reality.
Emotional intelligence doesn't teach people how to cope with reality.
Six weeks of NHS Wellbeing therapy doesn't teach people how to cope with reality.
Firstly; not everything in "a day's work" that creates stress is "reality." A lot of it is artifice.
The "big personalities" - who should be tamed by effective management, and pulled out of the pool the minute they start creating clashes with other personalities, or dominating other peoples' workplace experience.
The "office politics", "canteen mafia", and "shop floor gossip" - again, this is something effective management should be controlling, and shutting down. Yes, people are going to talk - but they shouldn't be talking about others, whether colleagues or clients, they shouldn't be allowed to coerce others into conversations they don't want to have, there shouldn't be "sides" that people are expected to "pick".
The presenteeism - as a manager, you're meant to be managing the ends, not the means. What matters is the quality of the work that's done, not where and when it gets done. If someone can complete what you believe is a week's worth of work in three days, let them spend one of the other two days doing their own thing, and the second engaging in strategic and creative planning to drive the business forward. The worst case scenario? You have more ideas and avenues to explore. The best case? Everyone else ups their game, and is turning in quality work that "should have" taken them a week in three days. They're calmer and more focused when they're at work, because they have longer to rest and rebalance, they take fewer sick days, they are more engaged with the wider remits of the whole business, because they understand and appreciate their part in it more, you can more easily identify relevant talent for progression or sideways promotions...Even when your business requires on-site working, such as in hospitality or retail, so you can't save money on premises costs, you save money on recruitment advertising and lengthy hiring processes, because you can see the talent you already have.
The bullies - Everyone has a right to be in work. That's trans people. Gay people. Visibly disabled people. Ethnic minorities. People who don't have the money for expensive clothes and sleek hairstyles. People with five kids. People who come in smelling of disinfectant and traces of ... something else because they had to do personal care for a dependent adult before starting their shift. People who arrive soaked to the skin because they have no option but to walk or cycle. People who travel by bus. People who live in council housing. As a manager, part of your job is to enforce that right - to stamp out the very first sparks of workplace bullying, and to make it clear that those perpetrating it will be the ones who lose their employment if it continues.
The overscheduling and understaffing - you're a manager; workflow, workloads, and staffing levels are part of what you manage. If you can't afford enough staff, you can't afford to be in business. If you can't afford to bring in actual cover for parental leave, long-term sickness absence, etc, and just expect everyone else to "pick up the slack" for an absent colleague, you can't afford to be in business.
If you can't work out that there is no sense in double or triple-booking your team, because "half those clients won't show up anyway", then you do not deserve to be a manager. What, exactly, is your plan if all of those clients show up for their appointments? If clients aren't showing up, something is wrong in your processes. There are barriers you're failing to remove. Protocols you're not following.
When it comes to staffing, you need a minimum of two staff members for every role. Because people get sick. They go on annual leave. They take parental leave. They need to go to the toilet, go on lunch, come in late, leave early. On a quiet day? You have two people who can work on strategic brainstorming. On the most manic day you've ever known? Two people have a better chance of not going under than one. Can't afford that? You can't afford to be in business. The sooner you admit that, the sooner the UK government can actually identify what it needs to do to support people who are unemployed, or underemployed; the existence of zombie companies is a significant contributor to the current UK welfare challenges, as it creates the impression that there are far more "options out there" for people than is reflected in reality.
The fake "urgency" - if it actually is urgent, people don't need to be told to get on it - they are very aware that it needs to be dealt with right now.
Very little in business actually is "urgent", unless your business is emergency services or the armed forces. Let's give a breakdown of timeliness expectations, shall we?
. Urgent - already discussed above. Typically doesn't actually apply. People can only handle one urgent demand at a time, and more than one member of your team should be working on an urgent call.
. Priority - needs to be completed ahead of anything else, typically within the next 1-2hrs. People can only realistically handle one or two priorities at a time. They may need a colleague to support the completion of priority calls.
. Important - needs to be completed by the end of the day it's assigned. A working day has three periods - morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon. People could be expected to manage 2-3 important aspects per period; that means they can handle at most 6-9 important demands in a day; ideally, you should be pitching low-midpoint (7 demands), to avoid burning out your team.
The "3 periods per day, maximum 3 demands per period" also reflects for the tasks across the week that you deadline:
In a 5-day week, you can schedule at most 45 demands per week. Ideally, it should be closer to 35-40.
In a 6-day week, you can schedule at most 54 demands per week. Ideally, keep it below 50.
If you can't work out that there is no sense in double or triple-booking your team, because "half those clients won't show up anyway", then you do not deserve to be a manager. What, exactly, is your plan if all of those clients show up for their appointments? If clients aren't showing up, something is wrong in your processes. There are barriers you're failing to remove. Protocols you're not following.
When it comes to staffing, you need a minimum of two staff members for every role. Because people get sick. They go on annual leave. They take parental leave. They need to go to the toilet, go on lunch, come in late, leave early. On a quiet day? You have two people who can work on strategic brainstorming. On the most manic day you've ever known? Two people have a better chance of not going under than one. Can't afford that? You can't afford to be in business. The sooner you admit that, the sooner the UK government can actually identify what it needs to do to support people who are unemployed, or underemployed; the existence of zombie companies is a significant contributor to the current UK welfare challenges, as it creates the impression that there are far more "options out there" for people than is reflected in reality.
The fake "urgency" - if it actually is urgent, people don't need to be told to get on it - they are very aware that it needs to be dealt with right now.
Very little in business actually is "urgent", unless your business is emergency services or the armed forces. Let's give a breakdown of timeliness expectations, shall we?
. Urgent - already discussed above. Typically doesn't actually apply. People can only handle one urgent demand at a time, and more than one member of your team should be working on an urgent call.
. Priority - needs to be completed ahead of anything else, typically within the next 1-2hrs. People can only realistically handle one or two priorities at a time. They may need a colleague to support the completion of priority calls.
. Important - needs to be completed by the end of the day it's assigned. A working day has three periods - morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon. People could be expected to manage 2-3 important aspects per period; that means they can handle at most 6-9 important demands in a day; ideally, you should be pitching low-midpoint (7 demands), to avoid burning out your team.
The "3 periods per day, maximum 3 demands per period" also reflects for the tasks across the week that you deadline:
In a 5-day week, you can schedule at most 45 demands per week. Ideally, it should be closer to 35-40.
In a 6-day week, you can schedule at most 54 demands per week. Ideally, keep it below 50.
You should be assuming two people may be working on each demand - that may not be necessary for every demand all the time, but having one person with "not much to do" means they can pick up "walk-in demands" as they happen, they can plan ahead to minimise disruption owing to known demands in the pipeline, etc. This should enable you to effectively schedule the team you have, and to identify whether you need to be growing your team, if you can afford to, or turning down work, if you can't afford to expand.
Everything else? It gets given an actual, realistic, achievable deadline. "Wednesday afternoon", "by the end of the week", "before we close out Q3". Deadlines like that.
There will also be things contributing to the stress of a working day which are part of reality, but not part of the workplace. These are not things people can "just leave at home when they come to work"; they are part of your responsibility as a manager - because you're not just managing processes and workflow, you're managing people. And people have lives outside of your company, and their workplace responsibilities.
. Your employees will have life worries, which may vary in number and intensity over time.
. Your employees may be managing unpaid labour outside of work, such as kinship care, sole parenting, managing a disability.
. Your employees will be facing ad-hoc frustrations, such as vehicle breakdowns, unaffordable bills, medical concerns.
All of these things will impact on peoples' ability to maintain their usual workflow and pace. That doesn't mean they are "lazy" or "lack resilience"; it means you need to manage the person they are, with the challenges they are facing, not just the job title you hired.
A technique I employ regularly is to have people identify how many "slots" they have available each day - how many "things" (unspecified tasks) can they manage before they begin to experience fatigue and/or frustration?
Everything else? It gets given an actual, realistic, achievable deadline. "Wednesday afternoon", "by the end of the week", "before we close out Q3". Deadlines like that.
There will also be things contributing to the stress of a working day which are part of reality, but not part of the workplace. These are not things people can "just leave at home when they come to work"; they are part of your responsibility as a manager - because you're not just managing processes and workflow, you're managing people. And people have lives outside of your company, and their workplace responsibilities.
. Your employees will have life worries, which may vary in number and intensity over time.
. Your employees may be managing unpaid labour outside of work, such as kinship care, sole parenting, managing a disability.
. Your employees will be facing ad-hoc frustrations, such as vehicle breakdowns, unaffordable bills, medical concerns.
All of these things will impact on peoples' ability to maintain their usual workflow and pace. That doesn't mean they are "lazy" or "lack resilience"; it means you need to manage the person they are, with the challenges they are facing, not just the job title you hired.
A technique I employ regularly is to have people identify how many "slots" they have available each day - how many "things" (unspecified tasks) can they manage before they begin to experience fatigue and/or frustration?
Not all "things" will be a full slot. Some "things" will take more than one "slot".
How many "slots" a person has will differ depending on circumstances such as disability, access to resources, etc. How many "slots" a "thing" uses will likewise vary depending on a person's health, mental state, access to resources, etc.
To take myself, for example: I have 7-9 "slots" available on the typical day.
The "background responsibilities" I have to handle on a daily basis look like:
. Personal care, grooming, and hygiene expectations - 0.5 slot
. Care for my pets, including feeding, cleaning out - 0.5 slot
. Walking my dogs - 1 slot
. Supportive care for my wife - 1 slot
. Commuting by public transport - 1 slot/Commuting on foot - 0.5 slot
This means that, before I even start work, I've used 3.5-4 slots. Out of 7-9.
If I have to pick up things like housework, because my wife is not well enough to manage it herself, that's a further slot which I have to account for.
How many "slots" a person has will differ depending on circumstances such as disability, access to resources, etc. How many "slots" a "thing" uses will likewise vary depending on a person's health, mental state, access to resources, etc.
To take myself, for example: I have 7-9 "slots" available on the typical day.
The "background responsibilities" I have to handle on a daily basis look like:
. Personal care, grooming, and hygiene expectations - 0.5 slot
. Care for my pets, including feeding, cleaning out - 0.5 slot
. Walking my dogs - 1 slot
. Supportive care for my wife - 1 slot
. Commuting by public transport - 1 slot/Commuting on foot - 0.5 slot
This means that, before I even start work, I've used 3.5-4 slots. Out of 7-9.
If I have to pick up things like housework, because my wife is not well enough to manage it herself, that's a further slot which I have to account for.
Something especially challenging, like an interview, or having to see a person I have significant issues with, or a hospital consult, can be 2-3 slots per demand.
My usual work demands with The Productive Pessimist, and the "slots" each take, look like:
. Blogs - 1 slot
. Research - 1 slot
. Social media - 1 slot
. Video creation - 2 slots
. Client calls - 2 slots
I also can't manage 9 slots a day every day; I can go up to 9 slots on perhaps 2 occasions during a week, but I try to keep things to 7 slots per day, ideally around 5-6 slots, so I have more capacity to ramp up if I need to in order to handle busier days.
I used to be able to run between 10-15 slots a day. I was younger, neither my sight loss nor my IBS were having the impacts they are now, I didn't have care responsibilities. My depression was less intense. I didn't have anxiety.
How do you know how many "slots" a task takes up?
0.5 slots (half a slot) = can be done "automatically", or with not much conscious effort. No impact on energy levels. The task can be completed even when you are already low in energy without any detriment.
1 slot = requires conscious attention, but causes little to no impact on energy levels; may be a little more impactful when you are already tired/stressed/experiencing impacts of disability.
2 slots = requires a lot of conscious effort, leaves you feeling very drained, even when your energy levels were "normal" before taking on the task.
3 slots + = absolutely exhausting. May be impossible if you are dealing with background stressors. Causes mental and physical health impacts.
My usual work demands with The Productive Pessimist, and the "slots" each take, look like:
. Blogs - 1 slot
. Research - 1 slot
. Social media - 1 slot
. Video creation - 2 slots
. Client calls - 2 slots
I also can't manage 9 slots a day every day; I can go up to 9 slots on perhaps 2 occasions during a week, but I try to keep things to 7 slots per day, ideally around 5-6 slots, so I have more capacity to ramp up if I need to in order to handle busier days.
I used to be able to run between 10-15 slots a day. I was younger, neither my sight loss nor my IBS were having the impacts they are now, I didn't have care responsibilities. My depression was less intense. I didn't have anxiety.
How do you know how many "slots" a task takes up?
0.5 slots (half a slot) = can be done "automatically", or with not much conscious effort. No impact on energy levels. The task can be completed even when you are already low in energy without any detriment.
1 slot = requires conscious attention, but causes little to no impact on energy levels; may be a little more impactful when you are already tired/stressed/experiencing impacts of disability.
2 slots = requires a lot of conscious effort, leaves you feeling very drained, even when your energy levels were "normal" before taking on the task.
3 slots + = absolutely exhausting. May be impossible if you are dealing with background stressors. Causes mental and physical health impacts.
People do not "lack resilience" because they have fewer available slots than other people.
People with lower slot capacities are not "lazy."
They are usually people dealing with a lot of background demands (care responsibilities, disability, mental health challenges, financial pressure, domestic responsibilities) beyond their job (or their expectation to look for work.) They need compassion, and a focused, person-centred plan of action, rather than criticism and blame.
People with lower slot capacities are not "lazy."
They are usually people dealing with a lot of background demands (care responsibilities, disability, mental health challenges, financial pressure, domestic responsibilities) beyond their job (or their expectation to look for work.) They need compassion, and a focused, person-centred plan of action, rather than criticism and blame.
The Productive Pessimist Ltd can help UK businesses, organisations, teams, and individuals develop robust, compassionate, sustainable stress management protocols:
Reach out to us by email: theproductivepessimist@yahoo.com
Support starts from just £45 for a 90min initial conversation, and two email/telephone follow up support calls of 30-60mins each.
All fees under £1,000 are payable in full at the time of booking.
Fees between £1,000-5,000 are payable on 30 day terms.
Fees over £5,000 can be paid on monthly part payment terms.
Support starts from just £45 for a 90min initial conversation, and two email/telephone follow up support calls of 30-60mins each.
All fees under £1,000 are payable in full at the time of booking.
Fees between £1,000-5,000 are payable on 30 day terms.
Fees over £5,000 can be paid on monthly part payment terms.
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