A Wellbeing Manifesto

Twitter was momentarily a bright place yesterday as an image of a Wellbeing Manifesto was shared and reshared.

Originally attributed to Google, a bit of research uncovered the original comes from the UK’s GDS’s It’s OK to say what’s OK article from back in 2016.

A part of me is concerned about the misattribution and the unknown forces behind it’s surfacing now. A bigger part of me is thankful to GDS for giving the world yet another amazing thing we can all use and share to make our work environment and products better. This kind of generosity is what makes the Product community great, and me proud of being one of its many members.

Whatever the origin story, the topic of psychological safety at work is most important than ever today. Working from home in the middle of a pandemic has added complexity and urgency to what was already an intractable problem for many people and the organisations they work at. As a leader, it’s great to be reminded that there is something I can do to help. There is no silver bullet, but every time you ask a colleague if they’re OK, and what you can do to help, can go a long way to making the workplace a better, safer, happier place for all.