Purpose
To make care needs within organizations more visible, discussable, and collectively addressable; and to shift responsibility for care from individuals alone to the organization as a whole.
What need does it address?
- Representation of caregivers and employees with diverse care-related needs
- Making invisible care work more visible
- Creating space to discuss the relationship between workload and care responsibilities
- Supporting the development of more inclusive and sustainable working conditions
- Establishing a care-centered communication mechanism between employees and leadership
How can it be implemented?
1. Make care needs visible.
Conduct a short survey, interviews, or an open call within the organization to better understand employees’ care needs.
This process can help make visible the experiences of parents, caregivers, employees with disabilities, people living with chronic illnesses, and others with different care responsibilities.
2. Establish a voluntary care committee.
Create a care committee based on voluntary participation and composed of employees with diverse experiences and backgrounds.
Representation, diversity, and inclusion should be considered when forming the committee.
3. Schedule regular meetings.
The committee can meet regularly to discuss care needs, challenges, and possible solutions.
These gatherings can serve not only as spaces for addressing problems, but also for collective learning and sharing good practices.
4. Develop organizational recommendations.
The committee can propose initiatives that strengthen the organization’s culture of care.
For example:
- Flexible working arrangements
- Improvements to leave policies
- Care supports (budget, time, physical space, etc.)
- Internal awareness-raising and learning activities
5. Maintain regular communication with leadership.
The committee can act as a bridge between employees and management, helping ensure that recommendations are reviewed and, where possible, implemented.
Things to consider
- The committee should not become a structure that reproduces invisible care labor; responsibilities should not continuously fall on the same individuals.
- Diverse representation should be ensured, creating space for different care experiences and perspectives.
- The committee should have a meaningful influence on decision-making processes and should not remain merely symbolic.
- Participation should be voluntary; no one should feel obligated to take on the role of representing care-related issues.
The Ihtimam Perspective
Ihtimam Rituals offer practical ways to strengthen care relationships in everyday life. However, lasting solutions to the invisibilization of care require changes not only in daily practices, but also in organizations, policies, and systems.
For more structural approaches, you can explore the Care Policy Recommendations Tool.
Shared by
This ritual was shared by Ihtimam’s Co-Nurturers.
Ihtimam Rituals is a living collection of care practices developed by individuals, communities, and organizations in their everyday lives. You can contribute to this collective archive by sharing a ritual that strengthens care relationships in your own daily life.