Sisyphean tasks
Sisyphus was a king of Corinth who was punished by Hades for his misdeeds. His punishment comprised of having to roll a heavy stone up a hill; every time he approached the top, the stone escaped his grasp and rolled to the bottom.
Our Trust is currently involved in two seemingly Sisyphean tasks: one seasonal, the sweeping of leaves, the other, the recruitment of staff seemingly u
nending.
The Trust has the immense gift of land, swathes of beautiful parkland which is a joy to walk through at this time of year because of the autumnal colours on our well established trees. However if you are one of our gardeners having to keep on top of sweeping up the leaves, it must seem a somewhat Sisyphean task.
But so too is keeping all our services appropriately staffed. Our Trust employs over 175 people. It is one of the biggest employers in the area. But finding the right people with empathy, who are good listeners, who realise it can be the little things that make a difference to how someone feels and then to retain them is a real challenge. Turnover of over 25% indicates the scale of this task. No sooner than we think are fully staffed and ‘cracked it’ do people move on either to better paid jobs, to progress their careers or because they do not feel able to undertake some of the very personal care that is an integral part of a caring role. And as the myth goes the stone almost gets to the top of the hill and then rolls down again. We have just engaged in a successful recruitment drive. We hope that this time that those we have employed will stay with the Trust, enjoy their work, develop their skills and feel they are really doing something really worthwhile, so there will be one less Sisyphean task!
Hilary Rowland
29.10.09
Sisyphus was a king of Corinth who was punished by Hades for his misdeeds. His punishment comprised of having to roll a heavy stone up a hill; every time he approached the top, the stone escaped his grasp and rolled to the bottom.
Our Trust is currently involved in two seemingly Sisyphean tasks: one seasonal, the sweeping of leaves, the other, the recruitment of staff seemingly u
nending.The Trust has the immense gift of land, swathes of beautiful parkland which is a joy to walk through at this time of year because of the autumnal colours on our well established trees. However if you are one of our gardeners having to keep on top of sweeping up the leaves, it must seem a somewhat Sisyphean task.
But so too is keeping all our services appropriately staffed. Our Trust employs over 175 people. It is one of the biggest employers in the area. But finding the right people with empathy, who are good listeners, who realise it can be the little things that make a difference to how someone feels and then to retain them is a real challenge. Turnover of over 25% indicates the scale of this task. No sooner than we think are fully staffed and ‘cracked it’ do people move on either to better paid jobs, to progress their careers or because they do not feel able to undertake some of the very personal care that is an integral part of a caring role. And as the myth goes the stone almost gets to the top of the hill and then rolls down again. We have just engaged in a successful recruitment drive. We hope that this time that those we have employed will stay with the Trust, enjoy their work, develop their skills and feel they are really doing something really worthwhile, so there will be one less Sisyphean task!
Hilary Rowland
29.10.09
