PUSH January Newsletter

Happy January everyone! (Don’t worry, it’s nearly over, and we’re very slowly inching toward spring).

Weather aside, welcome to this month’s newsletter which is all about the huge importance of work friendships and how the goalposts have shifted post-COVID, with home and hybrid working increasingly becoming the norm.

Connection is incredibly important to our sense of wellbeing at work, so the problem needs to move further up employers’ priority lists, and fast.

So how do you make new mates when you’re not having one-on-one contact with co-workers? Don’t worry, we’ve got loads of tips below and the Push Point of View is a deep dive into how we can deal with this dilemma.  

I also had the most amazing chat with author and award-winning behaviour change coach Shahroo Izadi for the Safe Spaces interview, about becoming braver, self-love and how to own 2023.

Always here for your thoughts and comments! 

Love, Cate x

PUSH The Spotlight On...

Work friendships

In our new regular feature, we’ll be bringing you warming tales of work friendships. This month we got the lowdown from all-round media superstar Lucie Cave and journalist, editor and ghost-writer Jordan Paramor.

How, where and when did you first meet?

Lucie: At Smash hits magazine, almost 30 years ago! Jordan was the editorial assistant and I was doing work experience and side-eyeing any pop stars that came into the office.

Jordan: We later worked at Heat magazine together, chasing reality stars, interviewing various celebs and writing features like ‘how orange are they really?’

How do you support each other?

Jordan: We’re each other’s cheerleaders and we’re really good at bouncing ideas off each other and planning (sometimes quite bizarre) projects. 

Lucie: We recently started a business together as a side project from our day jobs, meaning we send even more overly long voice notes on a daily basis.

What bonded you at work?

Lucie: Sense of humour, a love of gossip and being able to have a little kitchen b*tch if something was getting us down. Nowadays that’s grown into having someone to turn to for advice on everything from confidence and career to life sh*t. 

How would your lives be different if you’d never met?

Jordan: I would never have got to experience Lucie’s amazingly eclectic dress sense. She has also pushed me to be braver and supported me in tricky work situations, which has been invaluable.

Lucie: Jordan makes me feel like I can do anything and is a constant source of positive energy. She also makes me laugh with her weekly reminders of the sh*t we used to get up to (and how grateful we are that we didn’t have social media back then!)

PUSH Safe Spaces

Not only is Shahroo Izadi the author of two internationally bestselling self-help books, but she was also named Thought Leader of the Year at House of Lords by the Baton Awards (I mean, come on…). The tech entrepreneur and behaviour change coach is the perfect person to chat with about safe spaces, and her interview did not disappoint. 

Watch the full interview here.

PUSH Point of View

Are work friendships a thing of the past?

You probably spent Christmas surrounded by friends, family and random people you’ve met once before and had to pretend to remember. But the reality of work has well and truly kicked back in and after feeling safe and warm in the bosom of Baileys and Elf, we're back at our desks wondering how the hell the festive break went so fast and January is going so slowly. And for people who work from home or dip in and out of the office as a hybrid worker, that can feel incredibly lonely.

Fostering work friendships in a new job has always been tricky. You’re entering an environment where people already know each other and you’re the ‘newbie’. But a few chats over messy desks, several tea-making sessions, plus a few big nights out are usually enough to sufficiently bond you to your new colleagues.

But now there's a new layer to work culture which is making things more difficult than ever – the post-pandemic culture of home and hybrid working. 

How can we change this worsening situation?

Read the full piece here.

PUSH Ups

We never like to make the newsletter too serious, so we like to add a few lols here and there (please note, our use of the word lols is ironic). So we tracked down some of our favourite work friendships memes. Enjoy!

PUSH People

Coach of the month: Zoe Mallett

Accredited Coach, MSc psychologist and Culture Consultant, Zoe Mallett provides science-backed support to people and businesses. Her approach is fun and straight-talking, meaning she can showcase her expertise in both professional and personal situations with ease. It’s no wonder she’s worked with brands including Nike, Lloyds Banking Group, Soho House, Channel 4 and L'Oreal.

See you next month!