If you’ve kids, then the chances are you’ll have taken them to school.

Now… I don’t know what the routine might be where you live, but in my experience (with younger children), you wait in a queue for the school gates to be unlocked and then escort your child to the right classroom and make sure they’re safely ensconced.

What makes this process particularly interesting is the behavior exhibited by some of the parents as they wait. Regardless of what their child is trying to say to them and oblivious of any queuing etiquette, their focus is getting the child to their classroom and getting away as fast as possible thereafter.

And… and this is what really gets me… dealing with the various texts and emails they’re getting on their mobile/Blackberry.

All of which is symptomatic of the corporate and working life culture that I from time to time decry in this blog.

So, let me say this to all the CEOs, MDs and other senior managers who point proudly to their company’s Corporate and Social Responsibility document that clarifies their business’s attitude to:

• the environment
• compliance
• the immediate and wider community
• health and safety
• suppliers and customers

etc etc.

You need a section on how your management of staff lends itself to the betterment of our society.

And gradually, we might not only see less school queue jumping and parents attending to what their children are saying… but parents who have real time for their children and communities rather than feeling the pressure to constantly prioritize their jobs above all else.

Tags: attitude betterment blackberry blog ceos community health compliance health and safety jobs life culture mds parents queue real time safety suppliers school gates senior managers social responsibility texts