Link: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,21974217-36398,00.html

Stephen Lunn reports: WOMEN who return to work part-time after having children have more difficulty juggling career and family than mothers in full-time jobs.

"It is a double whammy for part-time working women - their jobs aren't the best career option and more is expected of them on the home front," said Barbara Pocock, head of the Centre for Work + Life at the University of South Australia.

Professor Pocock conducted in March the first national survey of work-life outcomes, called Work, Life and Time, polling 1435 male and female Australians.

The results, to be released yesterday, "confirm that long work hours have a negative effect both on the individual in terms of health and in the broader context of friendships and community involvement".

The Work, Life and Time report findings are interesting reading, especially if you are looking for guidance in terms of developing an organisation into one where this wealth of expertise who is ready willing and able to participate, but who finds the working conditions too restrictive...
lets get creative about how we can address such matters!

Link: http://www.theage.com.au/news/management/working-on-the-blues/2007/06/26/1182623871924.html

Thea O'Connor writing for The Age raises the point that depression in the office costs heavily but a concerned word from a colleague can work wonders.

Are you worried about a workmate's mental health but don't know what to say? Does your organisation have mechanisms to support such concerns and a place to go to discuss these worries?

If not... now would be a good time to have a look at the Beyond Blue National Workplace Program

Link: http://www.clomedia.com/content/templates/clo_article.asp?articleid=1844&zoneid=180

In the financial services (and, increasingly, the corporate) world, compliance is a way of life. Governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) are the name of the game if companies are to abide by the law and avoid penalties and fines or both.

This article reminds us of the need to be mindful of our own GRC strategies. What do you have in place? and is it adequate?

Link: http://www.trendwatching.com/briefing/

This month, we highlight the (STILL) MADE HERE trend: the power of all products that have a sense of place, coveted by consumers for a variety of reasons: from environmental concerns to shifting perceptions of what constitutes status. Pretty broad, pretty observational. Let's call it a conversation starter?

Two mega-trends of our time, the greening of consumption and the proliferation of alternative status symbols, hold the promise of vast new riches for real-world entrepreneurs, while wreaking havoc on those that lag behind. Which brings us to the (STILL) MADE HERE trend: the comeback of all things local, all things with a sense of place, and how they're surfacing in a world dominated by globalization.

“(STILL) MADE HERE" encompasses new and enduring manufacturers and purveyors of the local. In a world that is seemingly ruled by globalization, mass production and ‘cheapest of the cheapest’, a growing number of consumers are seeking out the local, and thereby the authentic, the storied, the eco-friendly and the obscure.”

In this briefing, we’ll focus on three big drivers behind this trend — social responsibility, status and support. There are more, but we'll save those for a future update. Oh, and don’t worry, we’re not going to wax on for hours and hours about farmers' markets ;-)

Opportunities are in abundance... but can you see them?
Start looking, that's all you need to do. What is your organisation missing?

Link: http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/not-a-dry-eye-as-hard-knocks-takes-town-hall/2007/06/24/1182623741923.html

Want to appreciate creative coaching and mentoring work at its best...
A group of singers, once defined by homelessness and disadvantage, are now known throughout Australia as The Choir of Hard Knocks.

Yesterday, a sell-out crowd of 2000 (me, my 9 year old and good buddies included) gave the choir — made famous by an ABC documentary of the same name — a rock star's welcome as they took to the stage to perform the songs that have taken them to the top of the classical charts and rocketed them into Australia's top 10 albums.

And what an afternoon it was. A delight to be sitting there listening to some (at times surprising) damn fine singing, and to be able to actively support the choir. I don't know about you but when you are in a position of meeting someone you would think homeless, you don't quite know how to support them. Apart from buying the occasional Big Issue, I think I would like to do more but was never sure how. This has given me a tangible way to do so, and taken me on a most enjoyable ride to boot!

My one fear is that it is all wonderful for the choir and its participants on the up, but as we all know, there will be a down. Whilst I'm sure the powers that be have thought about that, I would hate to think that there would be any adverse affects to this fantastic initiative but then you just never know... I guess life is like that anyway. Really it can only be good can't it!

May the choir go forth and spread their story far and wide and add to the truly inspiring OD stories, making the life they work into the best they can.