I asked my daughter what she thought I should write about for this week's op-ed and in response she asked me what my favourite kids' show was.
"Bluey," I replied, and she said that I should write about that then.
At first, I rolled my eyes and made a joke about how that's not employment related, but then I thought about it more and I couldn't get the idea out of my head.
Truth be told, Bluey is probably one of my favourite shows, period.
I love the nuances, the messages, the way that the characters interact with each other. I find it so relatable - who knew I could see myself in a heeler?
Most of all, I love how they manage to make it incredibly funny without having a fall guy.
At no point is a character made to feel foolish by another character for the purposes of making a joke.
The dad, Bandit, is a freaking super dad, but without being "TV-perfect."
He's by far my favourite character - and not just because he's an archaeologist (how cool!).
Mum, Chilli, has gone back to work part-time at an airport and the kids, Bluey and Bingo are in school and preschool/daycare.
The everyday juggle of chores, work, school and games ensue within an atmosphere of beautiful hilarity, punctuated by subtle and not-so-subtle lessons.
The best part of the show is that it operates on two levels - there are messages in there not just for kids, but for the adults who are addicted to ... I mean, watching it too.
I rather think that watching Bluey could be argued to be corporate professional development hours and here's why.
1. It teaches us that dads are parents too.
And they don't have to be the "idiot" who doesn't know what he's doing.
Bandit's got his sh*t together and is killing it in the parent zone.
This might seem like a ridiculous thing to need to say, but how often do we assume that the mum is the primary care giver?
It's important to give equal consideration to dads who need to take a personal day to take care of a sick child, recognise his need for time off to attend his kids' school events, and give equal consideration to male and female candidates of child-rearing age.
As an extension of this, we need to stop assuming that mums will automatically need "lots" of time off for child-related responsibilities and remember that they are just as capable of taking care of business.
By challenging traditional gender roles through presenting stories where the father is represented as the compassionate (and hilarious) primary care giver, Bluey is modelling a 21st century family balance that we can all get behind.
2. It teaches us accountability.
The show regularly depicts characters making mistakes, and they talk about the importance of saying sorry and "accepting the sorry".
Acknowledging mistakes that we've made is often seen as a sign of weakness, because we want to present the image of being strong and infallible.
But in actual fact acknowledging an error, apologising and making amends is a sign of great strength.
Whether you are a team member or a leader at work, this is an important thing to remember.
And it doesn't just make you a better boss or employee, it makes you a better human.
3. It teaches us the importance of paying attention to the small things and appreciating others when they come through for us when we stuff up.
In the "Swimming Pool" episode, Bandit takes the kids to the pool, but he employs no forethought or consideration for what they would need for the activity and, as a result, he forgets the "boring" things like hat, towel, sunscreen and snacks.
Chilli saves the day by arriving at the pool with these items.
Bandit quickly acknowledges that Chilli did in fact save the day, he shows real gratitude for what she did, and he does all this in front of the children.
From this, we learn the importance of acknowledging the contribution of our colleagues publicly, especially when they save our asses, but also the importance of putting in the hard work in order to enjoy the rewards.
So, it turns out that my daughter was indeed right. An article about Bluey is in fact topical and relevant. Thank you for your suggestion, my love.
Zoë Wundenberg is a careers consultant and un/employment advocate at impressability.com.au. Twitter: @ZoeWundenberg
