I shared a little snippet around taking a day off to look after my son this week on LinkedIn. Pretty fair to say it struck a chord with most who read it judging by the below, 24 hours after posting it
Two thoughts jump to mind:
- Not everyone is as fortunate as I to work for a progressive employer and Project (who are also seeking expressions of interest for part-time candidates for Project roles here)
- As a social forum, LinkedIn has an ability to positively influence others and create social inclusion for forward thinking work practices, and typically, is by far underutilised for this
Kelly Lovely dropped Richard Coleman and myself a note she received yesterday from someone thanking all three of us for stepping outside of the ‘Safety’ workbench and generating stimulating conversation around contentious issues, agitating for change. Whilst flattering, at the same time it highlighted to me a lack on others part to use LinkedIn for this same effect. What could be a chorus is currently a trickle for various reasons of which get spoken to me each day; not enough time, don’t see the value, I’m not an industry expert, others are better at articulating points, I might get trolled, my peers don’t do it etc. Most, if not all of it is in your own head, ask Drewie if you want someone other than me who went through this and safely came out the other side. 
You can be inclusive on social media, not adversarial, through not looking to prove others wrong. I’ve rarely met a living been who has been totally and ultimately wrong, most who have good intentions and are willing to enter into rational dialogue have some areas we can agree with and find common ground to build upon. For you, this might mean sharing or liking someone’s post who you agree with, or better yet a comment of support or disagreement (playing the ball, not the person).
Whichever way you want to interact on social media I would much rather have a newsfeed filled to the brim with posts like mine, or this, or this, or this or this (the more who do it and verbalising it the more others will feel comfortable doing it) than feeds full of maths problems, anniversary notifications, photos of poor safety practises etc.
If the topic of greater use of leave entitlements by men interested you, would strongly advocate you visit the below to see how you can take personal action (or suggest to others how they can), which in turn allows female members of our families and colleagues greater inclusivity (and reduces unconscious bias) within work environments
- Men Advocating Real Change (MARC) – Great for forums, research & blog posts including lessons learnt
- Male Champions of Change – Clear actionable content and implementation plans
- He for She – Broader than just the workplace
Now get out there – be brave, be bold and share and support those strong views -just remember to hold them loosely when presented with new information!
If you want to read other posts similar to the above which challenge our mental models & limitations visit the homepage here
If you want to know why I started a daily reflection practice see here – it may help you and others in your circle of influence, so why not try it?
Reframe my Safety Brain 