Are you up for a Sol?

Sun 5th February
Are you up for a Sol?

No doubt you've have heard the joke doing the rounds since last Wednesday evening, when Arsenal and (ex?) England defender Sol Campbell made a dash for the exit after probably the worst 45 minutes of his illustrious football career. "Are you up for a Sol? A quick ‘half'… then straight home!"

As humorous as the witty refrain is, it only draws a thin veil over the fact that a large number of men's mental wellbeing is as fragile as the seemingly super fit, ultra-confident and wildly successful Sol Campbell's. Medical experts have since gone on record to say they hope that this event draws attention to the severe strain men are put under from work, domestic or financial worries, and who then suffer a major crisis.

President of the Men's Health Forum, Dr Ian Banks, says it is the seemingly never-ending coping with the accumulation of problems that engenders that ‘one last thing' and the proverbial camel's back being finally broken.

Consequently men under such pressure do as Campbell did, and walk away from the arena of their problems. Alternatively they turn to drink or drugs. Worst-case scenario is the ‘last straw' leading to suicide.

We men in the construction sector know a thing or two about stress at work, don't we? We would never do a ‘Sol' - would we?

Unfortunately, the answer is yes to both questions. During my career I have witnessed colleagues and associates storm away, like Sol, from problem projects, turn to the bottle in the hope of finding an answer and in the most tragic case, a colleague took their own life when they could take no more.

The Football Association is hosting the 'Men's Health Forum's Annual Conference' on 12 June: ‘Men And Mental Wellbeing'. Maybe us good ‘ol construction guys should be well represented there. It would help put on our industry's radar the less well-known twin of that famous ‘Act' of parliament dear Mr. Prescott is always admonishing us about. The Safety bit gets massive PR, let's get a tad more sophisticated and focus too on the Health bit.

Hmmm, I've just had a thought? Does the female of our species suffer in the same way, or are they hard wired so that they are immune from the vagaries of a poor mental wellbeing? Any thoughts ladies?

Mon 6th February
Sorry, I'm not very well. I have some shopping to do

Since the year started we have ‘celebrated' the most favoured date to dump our partners, Thursday 12th January and for being miserable, Monday 23rd January. Now it's the day to throw a sickie.

Sky Travel's survey reveals today is the most popular to recover from a hangover, to sleep or to shop. Apparently one of the nine days that, on average, British workers take as sick leave' per year. So if the office looks a little deserted today, you know why!

Interestingly, the same research states that women can get away with twice as many sickies as their male colleagues. Is this, as dear old Baldrick would refer to it as, the cunning plan that female's enact for tackling the problems their male counterparts have with their Mental Wellbeing?

Any thoughts ladies?

Tues 7th February
Constructing Excellence, not romance

In true blue blokey fashion, the London Constructing Excellence Club has booked out Valentine's night for a seminar. Tuesday 14th February, the ‘day of the year' that is not contrived via some flaky survey and since time immemorial especially reserved to celebrate romance, love and affection, myself and fellow officers of the club will be in the male dominated environs of the city's London Capital Club. Not one women amongst us, discounting my penchant for the odd appearance in drag.

The committee discussed that London South Bank University's Peter Holliday will be delivering a talk on ‘Achieving value - lessons learnt from the higher education sector, derived from experience on the £47m capital programme at the University's site in Elephant and Castle.

Hopefully we won't be the only ones present and our loved ones still ‘value' us on our return to the homestead.

Wed 8th February
Wembley - decision day

Funny that a research team has not yet come up with the day for predicting if Wembley will be finished in time for the FA Cup Final in May. Sky News tried to get the scoop and today reported it definitely would not be ready in time. Various reports followed, pooh-poohing this story. However, Talk Sport Radio reported there is a meeting on 27th February, which it is believed shall bring forth the long awaited yes or no decision.

Allegedly, Wembley chief executive Michael Cunnah is unworried that the new stadium may not be cup-finalised. "I tend to refer people to the millennium wheel, which wasn't ready in time for the Millennium" the ex-Guinness plc man has been quoted as saying.

Do you think the reasoning behind Mr Cunnah's Eric Cantona-like random quote is to go for the distraction tactic used by close-quarter magicians to mesmerise their audience? Or maybe he is into the provocation technique, favoured in creative workshops for idea generation while brainstorming, to put us off the scent?

Or is it just his way of coping with the seemingly never-ending accumulation of problems he is facing right now, and he is actually looking after his mental wellbeing?

Whatever, let's hope come the 27th of this month, Michael doesn't take a sickie.

Thur 9th February
Desperately seeking a funky workspace

I'm currently engaged in an interesting project where the client is seeking to design and construct a more creative environment. Which broadly translates as a funky workspace to engender more cross-functional, collaborative and innovative working. Nothing new there I hear the plaintive cry - been the goal of most interior designers since the late 1980s. Yet the existence of such environments is not shouted about from the rooftops. So I'd like to change that.

If you are working on, or work in, or even know of, a workspace that promises to deliver when completed, or it does already, the ability to engender the following values, please respond to this blog. Thank you.

In essence I am desperately seeking a work place whose design supports and assists the people who occupy it, and the processes they use, to realise the following top ten creative climate dimensions:

• Enjoy and undertake challenge energetically
• Freedom for independent initiative
• Excitedly busy! Trusting behaviour
• An openness for failure
• Idea Time is ‘Off-task' play
• A happy and humorous mood
• Conflict constructively handled
• Active, supportive listening
• Debate! Groupthink is out-lawed
• Risk-taking! New ideas acted on

Ultimately, such a funky workspace that enhances the occupants' mental wellbeing and averts their need to take a sickie.

I look forward to visiting these bastions of creative productivity and their happy citizens. I wonder if one of them will be Wembley?

And finally…
"Health is not simply the absence of sickness."
Hannah Green (author)