So you’ve gone Hybrid at work - now what?

Ever since the ‘great unpleasantness’ of a few years ago with the ‘not leaving home’ and so forth, much of the workforce has moved to a hybrid model.

And the benefits are undeniable - save time on commutes, no running from meeting to meeting, no wearing long pants. You get the drift. The whole point of the exercise was to give us an opportunity to recalibrate our work/life balance. Here’s one way you can knock that one out of the park.

So we’ve claimed back some serious time - no commutes, no trying to find Meeting Room 3c, no more interruptions from Steve in the office next door and his seemingly endless stories about why if he was coach, the season would have ended very differently. The key is how to spend that extra time - and many of us have re-allocated it to family, friends or simply not completely burning ourselves out under the desk lamp as the cleaners scoot around the office floor.

But there is a third way you can leverage the benefits of being hybrid - you can take an hour of your working week and spend it changing a student's life - and maybe enrich your own in the process.

When we think about mentors, the common wisdom paints a picture of someone in or approaching retirement, ready to share a career of wisdom and insight.

And that works - unless it doesn’t.

Think of yourself in high school - how receptive were you to ‘advice’ from ‘older’ people. I know the answer because I was that guy too.

But there is an ocean of opportunity for people smack dab in the middle of their career, in the trenches, to not necessarily impart some profound wisdom - but to sit with a young person trying to navigate a complex landscape and tell them, “Yeah it’s damn hard and I’m still figuring it out too”.

You just told someone who may be a little lost at sea that they’re actually more normal than they realise. And that adults don’t have it all figured out, that most of us are still trying to ‘grow up’ and ‘make good choices’ regardless of when we left school.

Now you’re having a conversation. And that act alone opens doors that may lead to all manner of opportunity. It also helps take the focus off of  some other doors that may have led to a much harder road.

You don’t have to be Socrates to be a mentor, you don’t have to be Dr. Phil.

You just need to be a real person, with some flaws, some experience and an hour a week during the school term to sit down and listen. Or chat. Or cook a meal. Or play chess.

‘But I wouldn’t know what to do….’

That’s why we come along for the ride, some training, a heap of support and an organisation of like minded people all focussed on helping young people navigate a complex world.

The secret part that we don’t say out loud is this - it’s a two way street. Every mentor has told the same story - I thought I was there to help them, but turns out they were helping me at the same time.

Don’t wait till you’re ‘old enough’ to be a mentor.

Take what used to be time you passed sitting in traffic or trying to decipher graffiti on public transport and redirect it.

This is the true value of hybrid work - to tip the scales for outsized returns.

An hour to build someone else, and see your own true value in the process.

Hope to see you soon.

Standing Tall Warrnambool is looking for new mentors to join our team, here’s a chance to join over 60 mentors already active in our local school community. To help build high school students right here where we live. You can find us at www.standingtallw.com.au - we’d love to have a chat.