Holiday wishes and thank you's for 2008 and human rights hopes for 2009

As I am gearing up to celebrate Christmas and to take a break from posting for a bit, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who became a reader of my blog in 2008 and those who continued as readers throughout this year.  I also wanted to express my appreciation to those of you who took the time to comment on what I've had to say and to engage in thought-provoking discussion.  For those of you who introduced yourselves to me when I was out and about, thank you for that, I appreciated the chance to meet you.  It is very humbling to know that there are so many people out there who take time out of their busy lives to read my posts and learn along with me.  I hope to continue to foster that growth in learning in 2009.

Whether you are going to be celebrating an upcoming religious holiday or simply taking time to enjoy the company of family and friends (or both!), I want to extend to you my best wishes for tremendous health, hope and happiness to cap off 2008 and an abundance of everything positive for 2009. 

But, before I bid you adieu until January, as this is the typical time of year that many of us reflect on the past and the future (I certainly do), I'd like to ask that you give some thought to making 2009 the year that you make your workplaces human rights leaders.  

Whether you are an employer, a manager, a union representative or an employee, I believe that each of us has a role to play to make our workplaces spaces that are truly inclusive (inclusiveness breeds happiness!  And, what's that saying about happy employees are productive employees??).  And you don't have to do things on a grand scale to make that happen either.  Simply opening yourself up to learning about the challenges that might be faced by co-workers who have disabilities is one way of effecting change.  Or, being sensitive to how systems set up in your workplaces might pose barriers to people of different races, religious backgrounds, sexes, ages or disabilities and asking questions or making suggestions about how things might be done differently. Even incremental change can have monumental effects not only to people who have historically been disadvantaged by discrimination but to you as a person and to your organization's overall health and wealth.  

Take care of yourself and those around you!