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Welcome back to The Bend!
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The Bend follows a simple rhythm each week. The Eddy Line opens with a one-line thought or
observation, something short enough to remember but worth thinking
about. What the Current Pulled Toward dives a
little deeper into where the previous week’s energy went, whether that’s
a project, a partnership, or a personal lesson learned. Signal Fire highlights a person, place, or initiative
that deserves some attention. And One Thought Worth
Sitting With closes things out with a brief reflection or quote
that will hopefully help guide you through whatever you may be dealing
with.
It’s part journal, part field note, and hopefully
something that makes you pause for a moment before diving back into the
current.
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“If culture isn’t healthy, nothing else works for
long.”
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What the Current Pulled Toward
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This week the current pulled toward
workplace culture.
It’s wild to think about the trauma we carry from place to
place. The parks and recreation field is built
around joy. We design and manage spaces where people gather, play, heal,
and reconnect with each other. We talk about community wellness, quality
of life, livability, and belonging, among many other social benefits.
But behind the scenes, many of the people responsible for creating those
experiences are carrying wounds from the very places they
work.
I’ve seen it throughout my
career and, if we’re being honest, most of us have experienced some
version of it ourselves. Toxic leadership. Silence in the face of
bullying. Environments where burnout is normalized and vulnerability is
mistaken for weakness. Those things don’t disappear when someone leaves
a job. Unfortunately, they travel with you.
However, parks and recreation professionals are incredibly
resilient. We stay in the field because we believe in what it stands
for. We believe that access to the programs and spaces we manage makes
life better for people. But belief alone doesn’t erase the experiences
that shape us.
The truth is that
culture matters just as much behind the scenes as it does in public
spaces. If we want our communities to thrive, the people responsible for
those communities need to feel safe, supported, and valued. Healing and
growth inside our organizations are just as important as the programs we
deliver outside them.
And I reckon
that’s the lesson this week: the same compassion we try to show the
communities we serve should also exist inside our own
profession.
- Mike.
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The I Play Too Initiative from the
Virginia Recreation and Park Society
highlights an
important reality: parks and recreation
professionals also need space for mental health, wellbeing, and
support. The program provides resources to help
agencies recognize mental health challenges, address workplace trauma,
and build healthier cultures for employees.
The initiative also
connects departments with toolkits, research, and guidance on creating
healthier workplaces, including resources for responding to trauma,
workplace stress, and other challenges that often go unspoken.
Simply put, the
people who create spaces for others to play, connect, and heal deserve
that same care in their own workplaces.
To learn more about I Play Too, click
here.
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One Thought Worth Sitting With
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This week’s theme: Workplace Culture.
“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.“
-Peter Drucker
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Follow Oxbow on Social Media
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