The pebbles in your shoe

Workplace frustrations, however small, can sometimes feel insurmountable in these demanding times, and they can prevent us from working at our best. Addressing them together can lift your team’s spirits and help you deliver quality care.

‘Pebbles in your shoe’ are things that don’t work as well as they should, and make it harder for us to work as well as we can. These can fester or combine to affect our wellbeing, and even the quality of care we provide, so stopping to deal with them is time well spent.  

What this article covers

The second article in this series introduces the second stage of the Joy in Work framework. It sets out how to tackle seemingly minor aspects of work life that bug our team, and why this can have a major impact on our collective mood – even during the most challenging times. The article covers:

• Understanding of the formal definition of pebbles in our shoe.
• Effective ways for teams to identify and tackle pebbles.
• How to encourage participation by all.
• The variety of roles team members can adopt.
• Practical ways to sustain engagement and improvements.

Article reference

McCall, J. and RCVS Knowledge (2022) How the little things can have a big impact on well-being and care. Vet Times, 52 (11), pp. 22-24. Available from:  https://www.vettimes.com/news/vets/wellbeing-at-work/how-the-little-things-can-have-a-big-impact-on-well-being-and-care-cpdteams