The third space.

• Jurisdiction: Australia
• Author: Levett, Coral
• Date: 01 February 2012

We've all experienced a time when we come home from work still in the mood we were in at work--maybe good, maybe bad.

If it's not so good, it pervades the entire home atmosphere and can even affect relationships with other family members, particularly if it occurs on a regular basis. Well, the same thing can happen when we go between any two different environments. Each new environment we enter requires its own particular mindset for us to function optimally. The mindset we have (or need to have) when we enter any new environment largely depends on the situation or place we are entering. For example, a staff meeting, an emergency situation, feeding an elderly patient, lunch-break in the cafeteria, and going home all have different demands on us mentally and socially. Our role is different in all these situations and different things are expected from us from those we are in company with. If you think about it, we find ourselves in anything from one to a dozen or so different environments in any given day...