— Midweek Meditations:
thoughts, inspiration and encouragement
from ACF community members —
When I was working at WHO in Geneva, I was always surprised about the high percentage of staff on sick leave mainly due to emotional distress… some were hospitalised in mental health facilities for some time… a sad reality.
When exploring the potential reasons reported in staff surveys, a high number of the cases were motivated by the “toxic” job environment including severe difficulties with the line managers, I called these the “VIP UN Directors” with a mega ego proportionally to their salaries! In other words there was a lot “abuse of power” and little control mechanisms to ensure a proper work environment.
To maintain high motivation levels among staff, it is important to guarantee that human rights, principles and values such as respect, inclusion, justice, transparency in decisions are implemented in the organisations.
The symptoms documented by the medical doctors of the institution were among many more: depression, sleeping disorders, panic attacks, anxiety, and fear to lose their jobs. Without a job, they could not extend their visa and without visa, the staff and their families had to leave Switzerland.
In my “new” country and city, I also perceive as common behaviour: unhappy faces (sometimes at 7 am!), rude responses, aggression (verbally and not verbally)… nasty emails… emotional harassment favoured by the lack of comprehension and the absence of control mechanics of line managers. In this case, the “VIP academic professors”.
It seems that the trend is to be unfriendly… to be unkind.
After the Covid-19 pandemic and its devastating effects, public health programs are focusing more on mental health…
By now, health donors are considering that mental health should be included as compulsory element in every health project.
“No health without mental health” is the motto of the WHO mental health unit.
CDC African Deputy Director Ahmed Ogwell recently said: “Mental health is real. Mental illness is real too! Reduce it at work and just be kind”!
The apostle Paul in the letter to the Ephesians (4:32) said: “Be kind to one another”.
Be kind…
It does not cost us anything… just a smile… just a simple word: good morning… hello… thank you… please… would you … could you … May I kindly ask you…
Be kind…
and I add:
Be simple… be natural… be humble…
The ACF Midweek Meditations
are written by a diverse group of our church members with the intention to seek God’s fingerprints in our lives. They range from somber to humorous and are inspired by all facets of live and faith. Written by ordinary people from all walks of life, they reflect a wide range of Christian backgrounds and spiritualities.
Each week’s text portrays the individual viewpoint of its author. They might not always resonate with everyone, and are not meant to be understood as representing the Anglican Church Freiburg as a whole. Yet, as a church that is aiming to ‘Build a Community of Grace’ we seek to practice learning from and listening to one another.
We pray that these humble ponderings add a small spark of blessing to your week.
Freiburg Anglican Church 