To develop a ‘we culture’, three key components are required: professional empathy, diversity and intergenerational learning. This is what Ali Mahlodji argues in his book Next Level Work – Eine Anleitung zum mutigeren Arbeiten (Next-level work – guidelines for bolder working).¹ But professional empathy isn’t quite as simple as it sounds. Essentially, it’s about being curious about the views of one’s colleagues and listening to what they have to say. This means being aware of different viewpoints and not taking mutual understanding for granted. Being curious helps to prevent unusual ideas from being rejected too quickly, which helps to expand one’s perspectives to include the views of other people. Understanding where one’s colleagues are coming from means changing one’s perspective. This leads to changes in one’s own points of view, which can often be uncomfortable. But it can be worth it.

Other factors that contribute to a modern professional environment are diversity and intergenerational learning. Diversity is often misunderstood. It’s not about having ‘more women’, ‘more cultures’ and ‘more difference’ per se; it’s about having diverse knowledge and experience. According to Mahlodji, the current pandemic has shown that diversity within society is not yet at the level it should be. For example, there tend to be more women than men in key worker roles, and women need to adapt their working hours to make them more flexible while also often having to take on all of the family responsibilities, according to the results of a Dutch study.² In Japan, a study showed that single people in the nursing industry were given a heavier workload than colleagues with families – at the expense of their quality of life.³ Older people could remain in the productive process for longer if there were a professional environment adapted to their requirements.¹

In other words, this simply means that people’s working reality needs to be brought much more into line with their everyday reality. In the new ‘we culture’, all individuals should be able to develop their strengths in a way that is feasible and ensures their professional success. The workplace is a meeting place. Team leaders act as moderators between generations, genders, perspectives and opinions, and bring the potential and strengths of each individual person to the fore. Is this an impossible fantasy that bears little relation to reality, particularly for hospitals? Or a genius concept that can be followed and implemented with a little perseverance?

Just like our wider coexistence with other people, the world of work is also subject to constant change. Someone wanting to exploit capacities should be able to recognise the triggers that allow them to be harnessed. A current study of people embarking on selected healthcare professions has made it clear that they are on the whole satisfied with their work situation. The most important variable for job satisfaction is their colleagues. As expected, income was much less correlated with satisfaction.⁴ The team, i.e. the social sustenance, was given a higher weighting. Developments tend to be unstoppable once they get going, so it’s time to launch trials to look into new ways of working. Get started now!