So what do we mean by eldercare? There is no consensus on what it is to be ‘old’, as it varies from society to society and culture to culture. When it comes to caring for older people, then, it helps to think in terms of vulnerability in old age, rather than age itself, as it is obviously not the case that all older people need help. Defining the term ‘care’ is also far from easy – do we take care to mean protecting someone from risk, or as helping them to live with risk? Who provides care? Is there a consensus on who should provide care? These questions are the subject of debate in a number of fields, but what must not be forgotten is that, when we are talking about elders, we are talking about people and, when we are talking about eldercare, we are talking about the need to help those people live the lives they want to live, rather than what ageist assumptions present as the lives they should be living.
Reliance on alcohol, the use of illegal drugs and the misuse of prescription medication can all be highly problematic in the workplace. Simply dismissing people who exhibit such problems can mean the loss of valued employees who are going through a bad patch in their lives – a move that can prove quite costly in the long run – with the additional cost that others may perceive the organisation as uncaring and unsupportive of its staff. Such a perception may then lead to problems of recruitment and retention. But, if the problems of alcohol and drugs misuse in the workplace are not tackled, the cost to the organisation and its employees can be even greater. A good understanding of the issues involved is therefore an important thing to develop.
Mindfulness is a state of active, open attention on the present. When you’re mindful, you carefully observe your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Instead of letting your life pass you by, mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future (psychologytoday.com).
It is sadly the case that, despite all the attention paid to the problems in recent years, bullying and harassment are still happening in modern workplaces. No workplace is totally immune to the problems. They can occur in very macho organizational settings, in the caring professions or indeed anywhere where there are people working together. Unfortunately, many people are unsympathetic and do not realize how much harm bullying and harassment cause; they may dismiss them as unimportant concerns: ‘a load of fuss over nothing’.
When that time of the year comes both students and parents start to feel the heat of exam pressure. While some competitive spirit may be healthy, sometimes the balance tips, leaving both parents and their children anxious and stressed.
