About
A human workplace is one that supports everyone to be at their best, whatever that means to them, for the benefit of every aspect of their lives.
The Human Work Network has come about as a result of research for the book Human Work: Five Leadership Mindsets for Humanising the Workplace. It is a home for everyone, leaders with positional authority and people who are leading through influence, who care about humanising workplaces.
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It is a place to learn, to share, to connect with and from and to others about how to make work more human.
What is Human Work?
A Network for Change
What if the best workplace we’ve ever experienced is just a fraction of what is possible? Dare we dream of something so far beyond ‘business as usual’ that it feels like a fantasy? In our work, we aim to venture past the workplaces of the past and into the unknown; to imagine and create something recognisably different. To create truly human work.
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In our lives, we are blessed with opportunities for deep connection, caring, flow, gratitude, excitement, curiosity, profound meaning and so many other rich experiences. They are peppered throughout our lives in both relationships with family and friends and when we are alone. We may find them after years of cultivation or they may take us by surprise in unexpected moments and places.
Now, let’s imagine a world where work is the place where many of these moments occur, where you often find yourself in flow and doing meaningful work alongside others that care about you as a person. It is a place where you are at your best and bringing out the best in those around you. And imagine that we simply expect that work is supposed to be like this. This is the standard for human work. And it is possible.
We see ourselves as in collaboration with folks around the world, who are making their own workplaces more human, each in their own way. Whether it's the CEO of a fortune 500 company balancing profit with purpose, or a front-line worker who is finding their own work-life balance - we feel connection to a common purpose of making work more human.
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This network seeks to share stories of those who feel a similar calling, to share what we are learning, and to support each other one workplace at a time.
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There is a growing list of leaders who we have been learning from and you can read more of their stories in the book.
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Ana Delgado (Philippines), chief customer experience and chief digital channel officer at Union Bank of the Philippines.
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Bob Chapman (USA), chairman of the board and CEO of Barry-Wehmiller.
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Dale Herold (USA), CEO of Tidewater Fleet Supply, a Falcon Affiliates company.
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Fred Carstens (Mauritius), former CHRO for various organisations over the years.
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Gijs Dullaert (The Netherlands), non-executive board member, shareholder and investor relations at AIMMS.
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Ibrahim A. AlJammaz (Saudi Arabia), chairman of the board of Alamar Foods.
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James Prior (England), head of talent and leadership for various organisations over the years.
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Janice Lee (New Zealand), founder and CEO of Koha Kai, a New Zealand-based charity.
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Joseph Kenner (USA), president and CEO of Greyston.
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Mary-Lyn Campbell (Switzerland), former head of the Inter-Community School Zurich, Switzerland.
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The founders of Cultivating Leadership (Global).
Team
This website and the book that inspired it is born of collaboration: this team were the ones who found the leaders, conducted the interviews, wrote them up and have written about human work. They were the ones who helped us think through things when we got stuck and who kept showing up
to make sure this book got written. Without their contributions,
love and support this book would not have been written.
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Ayoub Semaan, Carolyn Coughlin, Cliff Scott, Diana Manks, Francois Guilleux Jade Yang, Jim Wicks, Keith Johnston, Patrice Laslett, Rebecca Scott, Richard Dent, Susan Taylor, Susan MacDougall, Tony Quinlan.
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Our extended teak includes Joseph Jaworski and Jennifer Garvey Berger have honoured us with the writing of the Forewords for the book.
The body of work
In our research for the book, we mapped various though leaders, organizations, and writing related to human work. Below you'll find an interactive map of some of the interconnected topics that inspired our book. Try clicking on different elements to reveal more detail, or view the map on it's own here.
Let’s Work Together
Get in touch so we can start working together.