Connecting Dots

Labour Minister Kevin Flynn, though, says the concerns of employees and those looking for work around the province are real and must be addressed.

"The workplace that we have today — and that we're bringing legislation into — isn't the workplace of 1990," he said.

"I think you can treat employees well and still have a very strong economy."

Kevin Flynn headed up Ontario's all-party Select Committee on Mental Health.

It's how he became something of a mental health crusader.   

He also wrote a paper on Workplace Mental Health and Competitive Advantage.

Workplace mental health, presenteeism and innovation have been hot topics within the public service of late.  Virtuous Schemers are putting a great deal of time and effort into understanding the mechanics of work, complexity theory, communication, etc, and occasionally rubbing up against a clay layer of middle management who trusts their experience and gut over evidence brought forward by these young whippersnappers.

But the clay layer is starting to break.

Open Government is a big thing these days - how can we have a truly open and transparent government?  What role does internal culture play in this?  The amazing folk in the province's Open Government team are exploring this.  It makes sense to engage with and learn from organizations that excel at developing supportive culture that improves productivity in a way that supports social-emotional resiliency among its team and partners.  CSI, for instance.

CSI is at the cutting edge of major economic and social shifts in work, training, exchange, empowerment, community-engagement, policy making, etc.  In many ways its an incubator for the future.

A big part of what CSI does - support innovators and change-makers.  A big thing they're moving in to - empowering communities, starting with Regent Park, not through direction but by being the stone in their soup.

Which is exactly what Community Solutions Lab does, which is why it's something many organizations are anxious to see come to life.

Empowered communities. Empowering employers.  Innovation.  Culture shift, changes to policy-making, changes to the model of work that sustained the 20th century but is inadequate for the reality of the 21st century.

Oh - and people looking aspirationally towards what we can do now to envision and start shaping the world we want our grandchildren to live in come 2067.

It may be raining, today, but I don't mind - I can feel the sunshine, just around the corner.