Patty's Full Circle Blog

Office parties–they are an inevitable part of corporate culture. Some people love them and others hate them. No matter how you feel about office holiday parties, all can agree they create a sticky situation. They are designed as a reward for a job well done and to provide an opportunity for employees to have fun and rejoice in the holiday spirit. The expectation to have fun and the standard provision of alcohol sets up the scene for neurosis and anxiety. After all, this is an office function and letting loose is asking for trouble. People who indulge too much risk hurting their reputation. Those who keep it professional appear cold and uptight. There are many other issues–what about the employee who doesn’t drink or the parents who need to be home for their children? It’s not really a party when you have to THINK so much about how to maneuver the situation. The existence of do’s and don’ts lists is evidence enough that these parties require too much strategy and thought. Then there is the risk management piece–employees driving home drunk from the mandated office party–that’s asking for trouble!

We’ve all been to these functions. They are all the same. I don’t ever remember feeling better about my company or feeling closer to my colleagues after one of these parties. The aftermath is usually a hangover mixed with paranoia about what may have been said the night before. They are expensive, indulgent, superficial, and often do more harm than good. Happy Holidays!

An Altruistic Alternative:

The holiday season is supposed to be about giving. A time for generosity and selflessness. Giving of our time is the best way to experience the benefits and joy of giving to others. Donations and philanthropy are great too, but don’t leave the giver with the same sense of satisfaction and connection to the cause.

A great alternative to the traditional holiday party is to plan a community service project. Community agencies are in great need of help around the holidays and there is no better way to bond with others than uniting around a shared cause.

Below are some pictures from a party I planned while working for Loyola University Chicago. We had a day of service helping out the local organization Misericordia that works to help people with developmental disabilities. During the holidays, they  rely on volunteers to work in their bakery and package their cookie care packages that are sold to raise money for their organization. After a wonderful lunch in their restaurant, we enjoyed games and a tacky holiday sweater contest before spending our afternoon in their bakery. We had so much fun making cookies and packaging the orders into beautiful gold boxes and red Christmas bows. We left feeling great about our contribution and about the time we spent together making a difference right here in our community. This has now become a tradition at the office.

Like this idea? Full Circle is ready to help you get this tradition started at your office!

We all inherit things from our parents–traits we abhor and some we admire.  The relationship I have with my father is no different. Like everyone else, as a teenager, I could only see our differences. I continued my developmental differentiation process into my twenties, my scholarly ascension and chronological maturing gave my arguments of dissension more fuel and legitimacy. This process is normal and necessary to arrive at the next stage of development where we can feel close with our parents while maintaining our unique identities. At this place we are no longer threatened my our similarities and know that sharing traits–good and bad–does not mean we will share our destinies.

That was a long way of saying that I’ve come to a place where I can see my father and admit similarities and acknowledge his influence on my life and who I am today. My father has modeled living authentically. This carries over into many areas of our lives. We are governed by what is right for us and not what is right by the standards of others. 

This way of life lends itself to pure expression and the pursuit of our sincere passions. Eckart Tolle, in A New Earth, talks about finding your purpose by living through your passions. For me that is making a difference through service, specifically empowering others to engage in service. With a passion like mine, it is easy and obvious to obtain a sense of purpose and meaning through engagement when helping others.

For others, it may not seem as clear. Take my father, who’s passion in life is trains. YES–trains. The toy ones, the real ones, anything and everything related to trains.  I mean, the man exclusively wears socks stitched with subway maps! With a passion for something as benign as trains , it is not clear how that can be turned into a purpose. Yet, when honored and nourished, even a passion like this can give life purpose and deeper meaning.

My dad does this by living his passion and sharing it with others. Through his trains he is able to connect with and shed his life force (there’s and Eckart word for you) with others. On October 11th my father is going to run his 150th toy train layout. The shows require an immense amount of work, preparation, set-up, clean-up, and time. They take place at schools, nursing homes, conference halls, homes, and army bases (as pictured above). Most gigs are volunteer and some offer small stipends to cover the basic expenses. All are done out of a pure love for trains and sharing that joy with others. Toy trains aren’t going to save the world or change someone’s life forever. It’s the sharing and connecting with others through a channel so alive and pure that makes the difference.

We all can do this. What are you passionate about? What can you share with others to give your life a deeper sense of meaning and purpose?

Yesterday I went to a luncheon at the Motivation Show in Chicago. The keynote speaker was Tim Sanders who talked about his newly released book “Saving the World at Work.” I attended the event expecting to learn about corporate social responsiblity and how individuals and companies can change the world through ethical business practices and solutions.

The talk was incredibly moving. According to Tim, we are entering the “Responsibility Movement” in the corporate world. He highlighted three points within this movement…

1… The end of the casual customer. People and consumers are now more concerned with a company’s “esteem” as a good company than they are with their innovation in their products. 2006, according to Tim, was the tipping point for young people researching companies on ethical business practices. For Teens esteem is the MOST important attribute a company can have. The more a company gives back and the less it takes the higher the esteem of the company.

2… War for talent. The under 27 generation is the most socially concious generation. They are looking for jobs that make them feel good and give them a purpose. Tim brought up a good point that with young people living at home after college and waiting to get married and start families, there is more freedom to leave a job. The turnover with young professionals is a huge and expensive problem for companies today. By making the new talent feel purposeful in their jobs companies can attract and retain the best and brightest.

3… Carbon footprint. The last part of the responsibility movement is the reduction of our carbon footprint. Companies need to reduce paper waste and make changes in business operations to reduce their impact on the environment. Looking ahead, companies will be held accountable and will have a cap on their emmisions and waste levels.

It’s one thing to agree that saving the world is a worthy endeavor and another to change behavior and put the idea into action. I believe that all people would if they could, but the perceived barriers and resistance to change slow progress.

During the talk yesterday at the Motivation Show, Tim Sanders highlighted three specific ways HOW companies can “save the world at work.” These are in order of importance to consumers and what they look at when calculating a company’s esteem…

FIRST and MOST important…Treat People Well! Businesses need to be Facebook worthy. Employees should be proud to associate themselves with their company.

• Develop Your People- Spend money and resources developing people professionally and personally. Take the time to train and mentor staff and set them up for success.
• Encourage Work Soul Balance- Happy employees make better employees and are more loyal. People need to feel that what they are doing professionally is MAKING A DIFFERENCE and giving their life PURPOSE!

Proper treatment of people doesn’t just mean employees. It also includes contract workers, customers, partners, and shareholders. For instance with Full Circle, we are dedicated to using products that are sweat shop labor free and when possible made locally to support small businesses and union workers–even though these products often come with higher price tags. Treating people well is one of our core values and does not have a price.

SECOND… Give Back to the Community!

• Match Community need with Company’s Capabilities- Use the talent of the company to help the community. We are all linked and giving back always comes full circle, for instance, UPS invested in their community by offering jobs to high school students who had good school attendance records and in return developed a local talent pool for their company.
• Make Community Engagement Easy- Events need to be accessible and sometimes mandated to get staff motivated to do service. Create company wide community service days where everyone gets the day off to volunteer together. This has to be woven into the fabric of the business or else it will go to the wayside in busy and tough economic times. I was excited to hear Tim talk about this, because this is where Full Circle comes in to organized fun and engaging service events for groups.

THIRD…Save the Humans (environment)!

• Go Green- This is such a trend right now and come people would think it is the most important aspect of corporate esteem, but it is actually the third. It is so crucial to make eco-friendly practices sustainable. They must become habits and can not be a casual commitment while the trend is upon us. There are four R’s to going green, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Replace (sustainable materials). Tim suggest focusing on the first two–Reduce and Reuse for an immediate impact. Go paper free and use electronic communication whenever possible. Learn more about green meetings by e-mailing Tim@TimSanders.com.

I left the luncheon yesterday feeling energized and affirmed in what Full Circle  provides. I know that what our company stands for is great, but I didn’t fully acknowledge just how much we are part of this Responsibility Movement that will change the world. We exsist to fulfill all of the points of this movement…1) PEOPLE: We provide an outlet for the professional and personal development of people and help give their lives purpose and meaning 2) COMMUNITY:We make community engagement easy and exist to ensure that the projects are meeting genuine (versus fabricated) need within the community  3) PLANET: We are committed to running events that minimize our impact on the environment and seek to encourage the adoption of green practices with our clients.

          In 2005, the Gulf Coast of the United States was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Since then I have traveled to the region four times over the past three years to volunteer in the recovery efforts. My first visit shortly after the storm to the area was eye-opening. I witnessed great, wide-spread devastation. The impact of seeing a panoramic 360 degree view of the damage in person was more significant than what I could absorb from observing the news coverage from the limits of a TV screen. My next visit to the Gulf Coast in March, 2007 was unexpectedly more disturbing than the initial visit. I was expecting to see progress and recovery and what I saw closely resembled the images that I took in only six weeks after the storm. This time it actually seemed bleaker, with fewer declarations of hope and strength and more evidence of abandonment. This year, I returned to the area, working in Alabama in March and New Orleans for six weeks this summer where I discovered an eerily similar scene as my previous visits. Some neighborhoods are fully recovered, while others are completely forgotten. The devastation continues, not from environmentally inflicted causes, but from the continuous failure of government and social policies to aid victims in their recovery. The man-made revictimization of those trying to rebuild is wide-spread.

Public Issues

During my last visit to New Orleans, I worked with several homeowners and had many conversations with residents about the challenges of rebuilding. A common theme was the lack of and improper distribution of governmental financial aid. I encountered people who are still displaced or living in FEMA trailers, many of whom are funding the rebuilding without the financial support of the government or their insurance providers.

One example of an inadequate government relief program is the now infamous Road Home Program that was created to “provide compensation to Louisiana homeowners affected by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita for the damage to their homes.” The Road Home Program (RHP), administered by the Louisiana State government’s Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), is set to distribute $10.3 billion of federal funds to over 120,000 Louisiana homeowners impacted by the 2005 storms (Ehrlich, 2008).

The goals of the program are well intentioned, but the implementation and policies within the program are failing the people the program seeks to serve. David Hammer, a reporter from New Orleans’ award winning local newspaper, The Times-Picayune, uncovered some of the failures of RHP. Hammer reported that a fifth of the applicants who applied for funding through the program have yet to receive any grant funding as of the start of this year (2008). A recent article in the Times-Picayune about the report “A Long Way Home: The State of Housing Recovery in Louisiana 2008,” produced by the group PolicyLink confirmed these numbers. Of the 80 percent who have received funding, many of them have not received full or adequate funding according to the report. The report stated that the average shortfall was $54, 586 (Reckdahl, 2008). From incomplete and inaccurate appraisals, inconsistencies with home value assessments and homeowner eligibility, insufficient support staff within RHP, and complications coordinating with condo associations and mortgage brokers the whole

system is in mass disarray (Hammer, 2008).

Private Troubles

On an individual level, the impact is immense and detrimental to their recovery efforts. People are suffering in ways that resemble conditions of third world countries. One homeowner I worked with, Gloria, could be considered a success story of the Road Home Program. After being rescued from her flooded home by a boat that picked her up from her attic window, Gloria was evacuated to higher ground, where she spent the next few days without food or water waiting to be evacuated to adequate resources. Gloria’s journey continued as she left the state where she stayed with family until arriving back to New Orleans in November 2005, three months after the storm. She started in a FEMA trailer park and then was placed in a trailer outside of her home as she worked to rebuild. She lost everything from the flood waters that reached the top of the doorways in her one-story home. When I met Gloria this summer, she was back living in her home. It looked like a new home when you just move in—filled with the essentials such as a bed, furniture, and a few extras like a large screen television and several pieces of art, but completely lacking in character and the sense of familiarity that home is supposed to invoke. Three years after her ordeal, we were finishing up the details, painting the walls, doors, and trim to complete the final touches of the home. Thanks to the funding provided by RHP, Gloria will soon be finished rebuilding as she fills the remaining rooms with furniture and newly acquired personal mementos to replace those lost in the flood.

Others are not as fortunate as Gloria. Three years later, they are still waiting for the funding to get started on rebuilding their homes. Some people are waiting from afar where they remain with friends and family all the while being required to keep their lawns maintained or their homes will be deemed abandoned. Others are working to rebuild without financial assistance using their own limited resources. With this they must work project by project, saving up for the materials as they can and relying almost exclusively on self taught skills and volunteers to get the work done.

Gail and Bill are among those still waiting for funding to rebuild. During the storm Gail evacuated, leaving Bill to watch over the house and their two dogs. As the water rose around their home Bill scurried to place important documents and sentimental objects at a higher level on shelves and counters around the home. As the water rose, his efforts proved futile. He rushed to get the dogs and himself to higher ground. As the water continued to rise above his roof, he sought sanctuary in a two-story home across the street. He spotted on of his dogs from this higher vantage point and was able to swim to rescue the rottwieler, Bella. The other dog unfortunately died. After several days without any communication or confirmation about one another’s well being, they were reunited after a family member of Gail’s spotted Bill (with his signature beard) and Bella in the background of a television news story. They came back home immediately, sneaking past the limited access restrictions baracades. They immediately gutted their home in an attempt to salvage all they could and limit mold damage as much as possible.

In the meantime, the home is still a gutted shell and Gail and Bill are living in a FEMA trailer that is parked in their back yard. The couple, who are in their sixties, relies on Bill’s handyman experience to rebuild their home step by step. To compound their problems, Bill was recently diagnosed with MS, and is often frustrated by his diminishing abilities. Gail is overwhelmed emotionally and has difficulty prioritizing and figuring out how to deal with the immense tasks that lie ahead for her and Bill. As volunteers, we felt frustrated, because while well intentioned we lacked the adequate resources and skills required get this family back in their home. Our efforts painting the exterior and windows of their home in addition to our listening ears and our supportive presence helped rebuild their spirit more than the structure of the house. After years of daily unanswered phone calls to government agencies and unending battles with insurance companies, the benefit of being surrounded by people who care was immeasurable. Unfortunately this isn’t all that they need.

Policy-Practice

As social workers, we often get into our line of work because we care. We are the listeners, the supporters, and the empowerers. Just like with Gail and Bill, our clients need more than support, guidance, and empowerment. All of our clients on some level are victims of systems and the policies within them. It is our obligation as social workers to advocate on behalf of our clients at the macro level of policy making.

            There are several ways social workers can engage in policy advocacy and reform. Wyers (1991) identified five models of policy practice in social work. Learning about these models is helpful in identifying places to engage in policy practice that may not be so obvious. Finding a way to engage in policy practice is essential to our role as social workers, but the avenue we take to pursue this can be tailored to our professional and personal environments and to the topics we are passionate about.

            In the case of the people of New Orleans and the problems with the Road Home Program, the avenues for policy-practice are just as varied.

• As policy experts, social workers could get involved with organizations like PolicyLink that analyze policies highlighting strengths and recommendations for change.
• As a change agent in internal environments social workers can seek policy changes within their agencies of practice that will better serve their clients in the aftermath of the hurricane.
• As a change agent in external environments social workers can get involved in social activist groups like The Citizens’ Road Home Action Team (CHAT) that was developed to “make the Road Home Program faster, fairer, more accurate, and more transparent and to make sure that the property it acquires is used to the best benefit of RHP applicants” (Ehrlich, 2008).
• Programs like Road Home are seeking case managers who will serve as policy conduits who can implement the policy changes with clients and provide feedback to the policy makers.
• The social worker as policy is the least specific model and the most difficult to identify, but perhaps the easiest form to adopt. My role as trip leader for teens did not prevent me from serving as a social worker and policy-practitioner.

My interactions with the homeowners and people of New Orleans were through the scope of a social worker and I can not distinguish who I am as a person and who I am as a social worker. An important aspect of my role was to educate the teen volunteers who were under my care. I taught them about the problems that were created by poor policy decisions, the importance of listening to the stories of the victims, and affirmed our purposes for being there. I also empowered the participants with tools and information to implement change from their home towns and schools. (Wyers, 1991).

Change is necessary to get the people and the cities of the Gulf Coast back on their feet. Despite their predicament, the spirit of the people of New Orleans is incredible. The resilience and pride that I encountered was hopeful and heartwarming. It was inspiring to work with people who had endured so much hardship and kept a positive outlook. Advocating for policy change is a part of this and should be pursued by social workers in every avenue possible. 
  

References

Ehrlich, M. (2008). Citizens’ Road Home Action Team (CHAT).  Retrieved August 22, 2008 from http://www.chatushome.com:2500/chatus/show/HomePage

Hammer, D. (2008). Many early applicants waiting on Road Home. The Times Picayune. Retrieved August 8, 2008 from http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ss f?/base/news-5/1201069823185270.xml&coll=1

Reckdahl, K. (2008). Report: Road Home falls short. The Times-Picayune. Retrieved August 22, 2008 from http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/report_road _home_falls_short.html

The Road Home Program (2008). The Road Home Program. Retrieved August 8, 2008 from http://www.road2la.org/about-us/default.htm

Wyers, N. L. (1991). Policy-practice in social work: Models and issues. Journal of Social Work Education, 27 (3) 241-251.